The Cat and Bug Game
by lostinwanderland
Summary: (Souls Unmasked) Gabriel's new summer line calls for a Masquerade themed party with both Ladybug and Chat Noir as special guests. However, Adrien is forced to go as himself, leaving him to fret about how he will end up courting his Lady. Pure, Gratuitous Fluff.
1. Souls Unmasked

(Disclaimer: Characters of Miraculous Ladybug do not belong to me!)

Hello! This fic has been inspired by several fanart I have seen and I was very excited to write it. It ended up having some Cinderella elements to it, which was previously unplanned, but I am happy about it all the same. As mentioned in the summary, this is going to be pure, unadulterated, gratuitous Ladrien fluff. There are no regrets. Here's another fic to fill the Masquerade AU dream. Enjoy!

* * *

Adrien trudged back upstairs from the office after a short but frustrating conversation with his father. He hadn't felt this disappointed in a while and he knew it was because he had high hopes for the Masquerade Ball.

Both Chat Noir and Ladybug were invited to the Masquerade tomorrow night, an event to celebrate Gabriel's new Ladybug and Chat Noir summer collection, and he had been really looking forward to it. Seeing his Lady in a different outfit all done-up for a formal event—and perhaps asking her for a dance—was just about the only thing running through his mind this past week. The problem was, while both Chat Noir and Ladybug were invited, both Chat Noir and Adrien were expected to attend, too.

At first, he reasoned that he could sneak off at some point and transform between the two but after the recent conversation with his father, it was clear that he expected Adrien to be in the front row during the presentation. Considering the fact that Adrien would not be able to slip away from his father's wrath by ditching that scene, it meant that Chat Noir had to instead.

"You can still talk to Ladybug as Adrien," Plagg suggested sympathetically when they were safely back in his room.

"What? No way," Adrien said, slumping into his computer chair and letting out a long sigh. "I don't know how. Ladybug has never interacted with Adrien before and I don't know how to interact with her as Adrien either. There's nothing about me that would even catch her attention. What if she doesn't even know who I am and just walks past me trying to find Chat?"

Plagg shrugged. "No harm in trying. Maybe if you talk to her as yourself, you'll get a different side of her."

"I don't know, Plagg," Adrien groaned. "She's this incredible person and, well, without Chat, I'm nothing. Just a mildly famous boy who happens to be a fashion model for his father's famous line. What's so cool about that when you compare it to the amazing person that Ladybug is? Even as Chat, I only have a slightly better chance. She's just…something else."

"Well, you don't know who _she_ is under _her_ mask. Maybe she feels the same way," Plagg pointed out. "Sounds like a topic to bond over."

When the kwami saw that Adrien's expression still looked miserable, he floated over to him.

"Oh, cheer up, Monsieur," he assured him. "Maybe it's time to try your luck without Chat."

"You think so?" Adrien muttered turning to glance at the sleek suit his father expected him to wear, which Nathalie had brought in and hung on the hook in front of his closet door. "You're right, Plagg. Maybe Adrien will be luckier."

—

"How do I look, Tikki?"

After weeks of hard work, Marinette stood before the mirror in her final product. The dress she was wearing was of a deep ruby red and had an off-shoulder semi-sweetheart neckline made of silk chiffon that wrapped around her bust nicely, and at the waist, fanned out into a mild ball gown cut. She hardly ever got an excuse to design or wear anything this fancy, especially as Marinette, so she simply had to let herself enjoy the moment fully, turning slowly to view each side of her dress.

"You forgot your Ladybug sash!" Tikki said, grabbing the last piece of silky fabric from the desktop and floating over to her.

"Oh, of course! Thank you."

She took the polka-dotted sash from Tikki and tied it around her waist. Both of them looked back at the mirror to admire the final effect; Marinette's smile was radiant.

"You're going to look amazing, Marinette!" Tikki praised, bouncing up and down.

"Thanks, Tikki! I'm so excited! And I think Adrien might be there and—OH MY GOODNESS, TIKKI, ADRIEN WILL BE THERE!" she clapped her hands around her cheeks. "It'll be so weird seeing him as Ladybug. What if he doesn't even notice me?"

"You'll be fine! I'm sure everyone will be showering you with compliments tomorrow," her kwami said confidently. "And besides. You're Ladybug! Everyone is going to notice you."

"Or maybe that's the actual problem," Marinette said nervously. "I'm not used to all that attention, especially when I won't be in my usual Ladybug outfit. Ah, well at least Chat Noir will be there so I won't feel too out of my element, even if I do have to put up with his…jokes. Oh, God, his jokes. Can you imagine what he'd say when he sees me in this?"

"You're worrying too much," Tikki said, shaking her head and patting Marinette on the shoulder. "You'll be fine."

"So can you work this outfit into your transformation tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Yep!" her kwami cried excitedly.

"Oh, thank you, Tikki! You're the best! I'm so excited to go to a Masquerade, something Marinette would never have the chance to do. I still can hardly believe this is actually happening!"

"Marinette!" her mom's voice cried from below and she froze at once. "It's time for dinner!"

"I'll be down in a second!" she called out. She hurriedly slipped out of her gown as carefully as possible and hid it in the closet. Tomorrow night just couldn't come sooner.

—

"I still don't see her, Plagg."

Leaning his elbows upon the second floor railing of the Carrousel du Louvre, Adrien shifted his gaze up and down the hall at the people below with a pair of opera binoculars he had obtained from his father. He kept a close watch on every person that was filing in from the entrance but saw no sign of Ladybug yet.

"Relax, Monsieur, it's still early," the kwami said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know about this, I'm getting nervous just thinking about seeing her as me," Adrien said, fidgeting with his bowtie to allow his neck proper circulation to cool down.

"Say, can you grab one of those on the platter for me when he passes by?" Plagg interjected, spotting a server walking up the stairs with a jackpot of a plate. "I knew there was a reason these events were so great."

As the cheese platter neared them, Adrien waved his hand to grab the server's attention and, once he was close enough, picked the biggest slice available.

"You are so ridiculous," he whispered to Plagg as he discreetly shoved the cheese into his inner suit coat pocket. "I'm going to have to make sure Nathalie takes this to the dry cleaning before my father realizes it smells."

While Plagg devoured the offering, Adrien twirled the black laser-cut mask his father had handed him earlier in his hands. It was ironic, really, that even though he would see Ladybug tonight without Chat Noir, he was in some ways still wearing a mask. When he was Chat, he felt more confident, as though he was free to show a part of himself he didn't feel was quite connected to Adrien. And yet, who he was as Adrien was part of himself as well, was it not? Who is Adrien really anyway? A boy who lost his mother and received no love from his father. A boy who had to do what his father told him so that he could please him. A boy who had already long been categorized by everyone around him. Sometimes, it felt like Adrien wore more masks than Chat did.

A sudden outburst of cheers brought him back to his senses. _Ladybug?_ he wondered. Grabbing his opera binoculars, he quickly pushed them back up to his face and trained them back on the entrance, searching, searching, searching…

His jaw dropped. There she was walking in shyly and waving to all the guests piling in front of her to greet her. She was a stunning sight—there was no other word for it. Her usual pigtails were twisted and tucked into an elegant bun, her lips were painted red to match her mask, and her _dress_ —where to begin? The gown was simply beautiful and for some reason, he couldn't help admiring the way it's v-shaped back exposed her shoulder blades. There was something about seeing her bare shoulders instead of her buggy shell that just made her seem more real, more tangible, less distant, like she was something in the physical world that he could feasibly touch.

She felt so close and yet so far. How could he think he ever had a chance with her? He remembered something she said that time when Theo was his Copycat. _I belong to nobody!_ That just about sums up who Ladybug is: independent and wholly her own.

"What are you waiting for, Monsieur?" Plagg's voice urged him, breaking his reverie. "Are you feeling lucky?"

Instead of vocalizing his answer, he straightened his bowtie, flattened out his suit, and with one final deep breath, walked forward in response. After all, whether he had his Chat mask on or not, he was still everything Chat was—and more.

—

Bright lights and camera flashes; Marinette could hardly take it all in at once. The chandelier that hung in the foyer was beautiful, the music was provided by none other than Jagged Stone, and she was feeling nothing short of ecstatic. Every few feet she walked she was being stopped to take a picture or simply respond to a greeting. She couldn't imagine being exposed to this much external stimuli all the time but she was enjoying it all the same. After grabbing a snack from the nearest server, she began looking around for any sign of Adrien or Chat Noir.

A hand suddenly touched her shoulder and she let out a sigh of relief; she thought she recognized that grip.

"About time," she chuckled, turning around slowly. "I was beginning to think you were going to bail, little ki—"

She froze in confusion when she laid sight on the figure she had expected to be Chat Noir, but there were no cat ears and the mop of blond hair was slightly different somehow. He was also holding up a masquerade mask instead of wearing Chat's magical one and there were no familiar piercing cat-eyes gleaming down at her in their typical playful glint.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought you were—um—someone else…" she trailed off. _How embarrassing!_

"I know you, do you know me?" he asked.

"Um—sorry?" she said, confused.

"It's Masquerade etiquette," he explained, smiling. "Well, at least in the eighteenth century. You start conversations that way."

"Interesting," she said thoughtfully. Then she looked him up and down. She wasn't sure anyone she actually knew would've tapped her on the shoulder aside from Chat. The fact that everyone had brought their own little masks just made it feel more daunting to guess and pinpoint whom one anonymous person was among many. "Hmm, I don't _think_ I know you?"

"I know you," he repeated, a smirk starting to play on his lips. _Well, at least he wished he_ actually _did_. "And may I just say that you look absolutely splendid tonight."

"Aw, but Monsieur," she said with her hand on her hips, giggling as he kissed her hand. "You have an unfair advantage. This mask is what makes me Ladybug. I am who I am with or without this mask."

"I wish I could say the same for myself," he replied.

"Ah, well, you don't have to keep your mask up with me, then" she laughed.

"Oh, good. I didn't want to hold this thing up the entire time anyway," he said, immediately lowering the hand that was holding his mask. "To hell with etiquette."

Her heart stopped. There was Adrien standing right before her with the most adorable smile she had ever seen on him and—oh, God—she was about to explode with happiness inside.

'A-Adrien?!" she exclaimed, almost dropping her ladybug purse. He looked surprised as well at her outburst.

"You actually know who I am?" he asked.

 _Crap. She was Ladybug, not Marinette! She could do this,_ she thought to herself. _She could keep her cool and not stumble around him because she is currently Ladybug!_

"Um—o-of course!" she squealed, plastering what was most likely the widest and most ridiculous grin that had ever appeared on her face. "I've seen your face all over Paris—I mean, no, sorry, that came out strange—I mean, you know—Gabriel Agreste is the one who designed the Ladybug collection for this summer line so of course you're not entirely unheard of by me!" _Oh, God, she could not stop her nervous tittering._

"I'm…glad to hear it," he said. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that he was grinning back at her. She thought she would burst any moment from the overwhelming joy building up like bubbling soda inside her stomach.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you in person," she said, shaking his hand stiffly. _Dear Lord, could she be any more awkward?_

"You too," he echoed. It took them a full minute to realize they were still shaking hands. They let go at once as though burned and he shyly scratched the back of his head.

"So, um, didn't Chat Noir arrive with you?" he asked.

"Oh!" she had nearly forgotten she was supposed to be looking for him. "No, he didn't. I guess he's late. Or maybe he's here and I just haven't spotted him yet."

"Ladybug and Adrien Agreste!" someone from their left shouted. They were suddenly bombarded with several photographers and all Marinette could do was wave and smile and try her best to appear natural. She supposed she would have to get used to it as Ladybug anyway.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a voice announced from above their heads. "Welcome to Gabriel's Masquerade-special Summer Fashion Show, Miraculous Couture! We are very happy to have you all here and a special shout out to our special guests Ladybug and Chat Noir themselves! The show will be beginning in just ten minutes so please make your way to the runway. We hope you enjoy the evening!"

"Oh, no! But I really don't think Chat is here yet," Marinette said concerned. "I wonder where he could be?"

"Maybe he had an emergency?" Adrien suggested.

"Perhaps," she said. After all, she had flaked on him before when they were supposed to attend the inauguration of their statue. She figured random things came up in their civilian lives every so often; it just couldn't be avoided.

"Well, um, I believe my father wanted you to be able to sit in the first row. Would you like to sit with me?"

Her eyes brightened, and even though she was wearing a heavy gown, she felt as light as a feather, able to float away any second. She felt her cheeks burn when she saw that he had held out a hand to her and, taking it eagerly, breathed, "I'd love to."

—

After they had all taken their seats, Marinette couldn't help but notice the empty chair on the other side of Adrien. She had to admit she was starting to miss Chat's presence. Even though she was thoroughly overjoyed that she had the opportunity to spend extended amounts of time alone with Adrien, she and Chat hardly ever faced these public events alone.

Throughout the entire show, she often found herself picturing what Chat's reaction would have been to some of the collections, such as _Chat in Chiffon_ , _Leather Noir_ and _Chat and Charme_. They were truly creative renditions of his costume and included a few she was sure he would balk at. She had to suppress her laughter imagining the look on his face when a particularly flamboyant leather outfit made its way down the runway.

When the show ended, everyone got out of their seats to make their way back inside the Carrousel du Louvre. As she walked alongside Adrien, her face shone with pure bliss. She had a front row seat to a _runway_ _show_ and Adrien had not left her side since the party started. The thought brought a slight blush to her cheeks and she stared down at her hands, trying to hide a secretive smile. Just as she often did when she was Marinette, she peeked over at Adrien out of the corner of her eyes with every intention of cherishing this moment and admiring for the umpteenth time how handsome he looked in his suit. Expecting the familiar exhilaration that those stolen furtive glances often gave her, she was therefore mortified when his eyes caught hers in the act and an electric jolt shot down her spine. She looked away at once and stared determinedly in another direction, wondering to herself— _was he glancing at her, too?_

"I, uh, didn't realize Ladybug enjoyed fashion so much," Adrien remarked in an effort to break the awkward silence.

"Oh, er—what do you mean?" she asked.

"You seemed really fascinated during the whole show," he explained. "It's not everyday I see such deep appreciation for all this. Most people are here for superficial reasons, but with you, I can tell you genuinely love it."

 _Wait. Had he been watching her during the show?_

"Y-yeah! I'm really into it actually," she murmured. _Stop blushing, stop blushing…_

"I'm—um—sorry Chat Noir wasn't able to show up to accompany you though," he said, opening the door for her as they made their way back inside the Carrousel de Louvre.

"Oh, that's okay," she replied, slightly surprised by him addressing such a thing. "I'm sure he just got preoccupied with something else. And I mean, it's not like we're together or anything, if that's what you were saying—" she thought she saw Adrien wince slightly and tried to amend herself. "I mean, or maybe you weren't suggesting anything, I didn't mean to make you sound weird, it's just you know, when you said—the way you said it, it's—"

"It's okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you—"

"No, don't apologize! It's fine," she said, willing herself to let this clumsy slip-up blow over. "Look, maybe, let's just—er," she looked around and spotted the dance floor. Could she gather up the courage to do it? "Would you—would you maybe like to dance?"

She couldn't believe herself—she was _actually_ asking Adrien Agreste to dance with her. If only she could tell Alya about this but somehow leave out the fact that she was attending Gabriel's Masquerade Ball _as Ladybug_. This is why she kept a diary—she would go crazy if she had to contain everything she went through as both Marinette and Ladybug. And here she was as Ladybug, asking Adrien to dance!

But Adrien's expression was unreadable. He was just standing there gaping at her as though she were an alien from another world.

"Um—I mean, if you don't want to," she said, looking away. "That's okay—"

She made to turn away thinking she couldn't handle much more embarrassment but Adrien's hand reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"No, I-I'd like to," he said. She stared down at his hand and could have sworn she had reached Cloud Nine.

"Okay," she smiled as she followed his lead onto the dance floor.

—

During the runway show, Adrien had wondered if he would be able to sneak off under his father's nose and transform. Now that he had ended up here _about to dance_ with Ladybug, however, he eventually decided to forfeit the idea. Plagg was right. Seeing another side of Ladybug from a different perspective was highly refreshing. There was so much uncovered ground to explore. He decided he had to use this opportunity for good…and perhaps ask her a few more questions about Chat Noir.

Butterflies were fluttering in his stomach as he followed her lead onto the dance floor. He could hardly believe he was doing this. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands, thinking that during their normal interactions when they were saving Paris, there was never an opportunity for Chat Noir to even attempt anything remotely close to this. He eventually placed a hand gingerly around her waist as her hand trailed up his arms and came to rest on his shoulder. He didn't know if his heart could survive the intense palpitations that had suddenly broken out inside his chest.

 _Okay. He could do this. Just take a deep breath_ , he thought and, gripping her other hand, he stepped to the side with the rhythm of the song currently playing. Ladybug allowed herself to be dragged by his lead but it wasn't long before her foot accidentally tread on his own.

"Sorry," she cringed, looking upset with herself, "I actually don't know much about ballroom dancing. I thought I'd just learn on the fly, but clearly, it's not working out so well."

"It's okay," he laughed. He could feel his typical Chat smirk playing on his lips. _His Lady doesn't know how to dance? It looked like he would have to lead for a change—_ and _it would be his pleasure to do so._ "Just follow me," he said, unable to suppress his classic wink.

She looked down at their feet, trying to keep up with his pattern, which he kept simple for her. Luckily for him, growing up in Gabriel Agreste's home meant ballroom dance lessons were inevitable, so as he taught her, his confidence returned to him and the shy, nervous energy around them started melting away. Soon, she was laughing with him at her initial clumsiness and they fell into a comfortable pace.

"So, about Chat Noir," he began again, "are you disappointed in him?"

"For not showing up?" she asked as they continued to revolve around the floor. "Nah. Chat is a lot of things but disappointing isn't ever one of them. He probably had a lot on his plate tonight."

He felt his spirits lift considerably. She wasn't upset at him _and_ she complimented him. He could feel his inner Chat purring contently. "But—err—based on your earlier comment, you wouldn't want to date him?"

"I—uhh," she chuckled uneasily. "I mean, if you really think about it, we don't know each other's real identities, so how could I know for sure? And anyway, he's such a big flirt and he's got this huge bravado thing going on and I'm just not really sure if that's my type. It's not to say those aren't endearing traits but…it's hard for me to even think about reciprocating because I—I, err—I mean—"

"You like someone else," he finished for her, a fact about Ladybug that he had already known due to all the time he spent with her as Chat.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. He realized too late that it was a rather bold thing for him to say as Adrien. In an attempt to loosen up the tension, he spun her around on the spot, pushing her away from him and then pulling her back in.

Once she twirled back into his arms, she switched tracks. "Um, you know what? Enough about me. Let's talk about you. What's your life like being _the_ Gabriel Agreste's son?"

"Truthful answer?" he asked. She nodded. He sighed. "Well…it's complicated."

"Try me," she tested.

"It's really not all that it's cracked up to be," he said. Then, taking a deep breath, he plunged on. "I mean I'm not trying to say that I'm ungrateful for growing up in a wealthy home and having resources and opportunities that most others don't have nor am I resentful about my upbringing in any way, but it definitely comes at a cost."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "From what I can see so far, you don't seem to even have half the spoiled attitude that Chloe has."

"I guess that is a positive in certain ways but…at least her father clearly loves her," he countered.

"I'm sure your father loves you, too," she said confidently. "I mean…who wouldn't?"

Adrien tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it. He thought he should feel happy that Ladybug would say such a thing, but instead, it seemed to expose the gaping hole inside of him that stemmed from the lack of parental love even more. His heart suddenly felt five times heavier.

"Adrien?"

"Sorry," he said. He hadn't meant to let the conversation go down this path but he had always wished that he could share these things with Ladybug; in fact, he wanted to share everything with her. However, he also didn't exactly want to speak badly of his father or bring upon him a negative public image. Distant and unaffectionate or not, he was still his father and Adrien still wanted to treat him with respect.

"We can talk about something else if you'd like," she offered.

"No, it's not that. It's just—" he let out a sigh. "It's hard sometimes to feel like you're expected to maintain a public image at all times, even in your own home. It's like living with a mask you can never take off."

"Do you really feel that way?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed. She was looking at him with such compassion etched into her features it was unbearable.

As they continued to sway with the music, he was suddenly hit with an overwhelming desire in his chest right then to tell her he was Chat Noir. That when he is Adrien, he wears a constant mask but when he is Chat Noir, he can freely take it off. He wanted to tell her that when Chat gets to run around Paris with Ladybug—with her—those are the times he can be himself: silly, ridiculous and carefree. He sorely wanted her to know that being with her always took his mind off everything else. That courage, sass, and independence just radiated from her very being and whenever he was around her, he felt like he could reach out and touch it and taste that same confidence for himself. It was unbearable that he could look into her eyes and feel all of these things while she looked back at him and couldn't see any of it. The confession was on the tip of his tongue, welling up inside and threatening to spill over his lips—but…he couldn't. He knew Ladybug had said they couldn't know each other's identities and he had to respect that.

"Most of the time, I do, but not always," he answered finally. "I'm just not like you. You're so confident and brave and the champion of Paris and—"

"Adrien, don't." She was shaking her head at him. "You don't know who I am as a civilian. I'm a klutz, I often do or say things that make a fool of myself, I get jealous, I get petty…the list goes on."

That didn't mean anything to him. He could be a klutz too. He often said things that made a fool of himself. He's done petty things out of jealousy. Why did she think that would make her unlikeable?

"Do you really think people would like you less as your civilian self?" he asked.

"Not necessarily," she responded. "The people that know the real me wouldn't. Can't say the same for everyone else though. For example, I'm not sure that Chat would still like me if he knew the real me. Not to say the civilian me isn't great or anything, but when I'm Ladybug, I feel like I'm this symbol or icon in a way. I just can't help but feel like he probably has this idealized version of who I am and that maybe if he knew the real me, his bubble would burst."

 _No, it wouldn't!_ he wanted to say, even though he knew he couldn't be completely sure of it without knowing who she really was. Nonetheless, he was convinced that there was no way her civilian self could be disappointing. If a part of himself shone out as Chat, then the same could probably be assumed for her.

"Can I ask you another question, then?"

"Sure," she nodded. Neither of them had noticed that the song had ended. They stared at each other for a few moments until they realized Jagged Stone had struck up a much faster beat and everyone was starting to crowd onto the dance floor.

"Oops," she giggled, trying to avoid a random reporter who nearly crashed into her. "Do you want to go outside?"

Without responding, he took her hand and led her out. They slipped out the exit without being spotted and soon found themselves breathing in the cool, fresh night air. Taking a few seconds to allow the peaceful Paris evening to drown out all the noise they had left behind, they paused for a moment to admire the stars.

"So, what were you going to ask me?" she said, turning to him. As they began to walk along the sidewalk bordering le Jardin des Tuileries, he couldn't help noticing how beautiful her eyes were when looked at under the moonlight. The stillness of the night seemed to bring out all the constellations reflected in those bright blue orbs and he knew without a doubt that the stars belonged there.

"I was going to ask if you feel like you can be yourself with _and_ without the mask," he replied. _God, he couldn't take his eyes off of her._

"Oh." She bit her lip in thought. "I think that I can, actually. Although like I said, the nature of being Ladybug involves people being blind to your flaws. I don't think I try to hide them though. When I'm civilian me, I'm just…me. No magic. No mask. Just simply plain old me. It's just that saving Paris is a responsibility thrust upon me that I have fully committed to taking up, and that includes accepting that people might be putting me on a pedestal. I guess most celebrities must feel that way though—even you."

"Oh, I'd hardly count myself a celebrity," he said. "I think it's different though if you feel like you have people who know the real you, the ones that are still sticking around because they love you unconditionally."

"Isn't that what family is for?" she asked, smiling. Having reached a bench, she sat down on one side of it and he followed suit.

"It…should be," he said. "But it doesn't always happen that way." He sighed. "Actually, to tell you the truth. My mom left us when I was young. I think it really changed my father. He isn't around all the time and is often too busy to notice me."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Adrien," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. The warmth and gentleness of her touch brought him a comfort he had not felt in a long time and the pounding in his heart seemed to have gotten louder in his ears. "I hope that even if you _are_ a public image you can still find people who love you for who you really are inside, even if it doesn't come from your parents. You should show more of your true self to your school friends, maybe. I think they would really appreciate that and love you all the more for it."

His hand came to rest upon hers on his shoulder, feeling grateful for her encouraging words. He didn't understand how Ladybug could show so much confidence in who he was as a person—as Adrien. He had no idea why though; she barely knew him, right?

"Ladybug, I—" his voice hitched in his throat when he met her eyes. She was looking at him in a way she had never looked at Chat before and it made it hard for him to think clearly. He had never been able to tell her as Chat the things he had told her tonight as Adrien because they were always too busy saving Paris and he was always making a fool of himself anyway. He didn't think it was possible to love her anymore than he already did but tonight had proved him wrong. Despite her speculation that Chat would like her less if he knew her real identity, tonight had proved to him that it was absolutely impossible for him to ever like her any less than he already did.

Turning around to face her, he cupped her chin with his hand and waited, giving her the space to back away in case she wanted to. Instead, to his astonishment, she leaned in closer and he saw those favorite blue eyes of his flutter shut. Slowly, he lowered his head and his lips brushed hers lightly before pulling back an inch to study her reaction. She touched a finger to her lip, and then her hands came up and dug themselves in his hair, bringing his head back down to kiss her again. His hand found her back, and his fingers burned with a shocking reminder that her skin there was bare in the gown she was wearing, and he pulled her closer still, abandoning all other thought as he deepened the kiss. She responded in equal measure, her lips yielding against his like water, and as he gently tugged on her bottom lip, her mouth opened. His hand came to cradle her neck as she quickened her pace and her fingers were still running through his hair and he could feel both their hearts racing faster and faster and then—

 _Beep._

Their eyes shot open and she broke away, breathing heavily and touching a hand to her ear.

"My transformation is about to wear off," she gasped, and he couldn't help but hear the reluctance and regret in her voice. She gave him a longing look but stood up from her seat. "I should probably go. I can't just skip off and yo-yo home in this dress."

She started walking away. Adrien got up at once and followed her.

"But will you be okay getting home alone without being Ladybug?" he asked, trying to catch up with her speed walking.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," she said, heading towards where they both knew the nearest subway entrance was. When they reached the stairway heading underground, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Wait."

She stopped for a moment and looked back at him. "Look, I'm sorry, I've gotta run. I had a really nice evening with you, Adrien. But I gotta run."

Another beep. She made to turn away but he kept his grip on her arm tight.

"Stay," he implored, reminding himself of another scenario where he as Chat had begged of her the exact same request. "I won't tell anyone who you are." _Cat's honor._ "Just…stay."

"I'm sorry, Adrien. I wish I could, and believe me, I really mean that. This is the closest I've ever felt to wanting to reveal myself," she said, smiling despite her regret. "But, I just can't. Nobody is supposed to know my identity."

"I understand," he said, blinking and looking down. He felt her hand on his cheek and he looked back up at her.

"Hey, it'll be okay," she said, smiling up at him again. "Just promise me you'll let your closest friends around you see more of who you really are. Otherwise, I think they'd be missing out."

Another beep.

"Goodbye for tonight, Adrien," she said. "I'll see you around. I promise."

She kissed him swiftly on the cheek then turned away to run downstairs as the last and final beep rang. He saw a glimmer of light right when she reached the last step in view and the hem of her gown began to disappear, but before his eyes could even follow her, she turned a corner and slipped out of sight. Leaning back against the lamppost in front of the subway entrance, he let out a long, deep exhale.

"I almost had her, Plagg," he said, opening his suit coat to allow his kwami to peek his head out. "You were right, though. I _was_ luckier tonight."

"She dropped something," Plagg noted, pointing down the stairs. In all the excitement of almost seeing her transform back, Adrien had missed that detail. As he walked down the stairs, he spotted a silky red sash with black polka dots.

"I guess it must have dropped off from her transformation," he said, thinking she had probably tied it around her waist after her initial transformation instead of incorporating it into the outfit fully. Something about having this token of Ladybug's in his hands, however, brought a wide grin to his face.

Even though Ladybug had once said that she belonged to nobody, as he gazed down at the polka-dotted sash in his hands, as he touched a finger to his lips and realized that he _had_ indeed kissed her, as he looked up at the moon and remembered her bright blue eyes reflecting it back to him under the stars, he felt like for the past few hours, Ladybug had really been his, even if only for this one night.

* * *

— _la fin_ —


	2. The Fashionable Find

A/N: Hey guys! By popular demand, I have indeed decided to continue this as a three-part series! Yay!

I feel like since most of the episodes can kind of stand on its own, I just wrote with the assumption that Adrien would see all his classmates except Chloe and Alya as clean slate for being potential Ladybugs (only because he's seen Chloe and Alya in the presence of Ladybug multiple episodes). Also, I know Hawkdaddy said that Ladynoir really do go on patrols together, but I took that out to give our favorite little Chat a bit more of a challenge to make the story more interesting! ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own MLB or any of its characters!

Warning: Extreme fluff coming up.

* * *

The silk polka-dotted sash lay still on Adrien's desk, completely untouched since he had placed it there the night he came back from the Masquerade ball. He had gone to bed in an elated daze and Plagg had teased him for being completely unable to stop smiling. It was now the Sunday right after the party and he had spent the entire morning still living off from the euphoric effects of having kissed Ladybug. Everything had seemed five times funnier and more extraordinary than usual.

He had always wanted to know who Ladybug was under her mask—that had always been true. However, after last night, Adrien seemed to have crossed a threshold so that now, there was a pre-Masquerade Adrien who could accept not knowing her identity and a post-Masquerade Adrien who would not stop until he _knew_. That kiss and their conversation had changed everything. Accepting he didn't know was now a thing of the past that he could no longer live by. He had to find out.

But until he did, he lay there on his bed glancing every now and then at the polka-dotted sash: an unintentional token from Ladybug that he nonetheless would treasure. Every time he caught sight of it, the butterflies would start fluttering in his stomach and he would be prone to goofy grins and dreamy far-off looks. What an enchanting night. He had no idea how he was going to function in school the next day.

 _School!_

"Plagg," he called out from his bed. The kwami was on the desk eating a slice of cheese. "Do you think Ladybug goes to Dupont? Alya once made a blog post about Ladybug's history textbook. Could be coincidence though. Or another history class?"

"Oh, Monsieur, we've been through this before," Plagg whined. "And this is why I maintain that cheese is the only relationship worthy of pursuing."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Come on, Plagg. Just humor me. What do you think?"

"If you think Ladybug might be at your school, why don't you just keep a sharp eye on everyone this week? Be on your guard and sniff her out."

"Well…I suppose I could."

He never thought of himself as a very good detective type. He wasn't like Alya. She was frighteningly attentive to little details and too observant for her own good. But perhaps if she could do it, so could he if he put his mind to it. If he wanted to know who Ladybug was this badly, then he had to try.

"You're right, Plagg," he finally said out loud. "No harm in trying. Gotta tap into those inner Chat senses."

He looked over at the sash again and allowed the sight of it to fill him with determination. He was going to figure her out. He was going to catch himself a Ladybug.

* * *

Alya had spent all Saturday night watching live updates of the Masquerade-special Summer Fashion Show and was now finishing her Sunday night polishing up her blog post before it would go live. She had to show Marinette all the pictures she found of Adrien at the event _and_ tell her all the theories she'd been hatching about why Ladybug was found in his presence for the majority of the night. It was too good, such delicious gossip. She giggled to herself as she grabbed her phone to text Marinette.

" _Girl, you have been so MIA this weekend! I have some big news for you tomorrow morning! Text me back, okay?"_

With that, she stretched out her arms, hit the "post" button, and got ready for bed.

When she awoke the next morning, she was disappointed to find that Marinette had not responded. _Why does she always do this?_ she thought, rolling her eyes. After she scarfed down some breakfast and kissed her mom goodbye, she left for school.

On her daily walk, she checked her blog activity, scrolling through the notifications on her phone and indulging herself by rereading what she wrote. She decided not to make any claims on her blog about Ladybug and Adrien, as she had yet to tell Marinette. Perhaps it was just a coincidence anyways. Famous model and son of a famous designer happens to talk to a famous super-heroine, who happens to be roughly the same age—she knew it was probably just one of those things that the media seizes upon, but it was exciting all the same.

Spotting her best friend, she ran up to her and nudged her shoulder.

"Marinette! You didn't respond to my texts!" she accused at once. "Did you even read my blog?"

"I'm sorry, Alya!" she said, looking sincerely apologetic. "I was busy and really tired by the end of this weekend so no, I didn't."

"No matter now," Alya said, waving away her apology. "Wait until you see what I've been reading up on the last two days."

She shoved the phone under Marinette's chin and swiped slowly through her photos. "Look! Ladybug attended the Masquerade but where was Chat Noir? She ended up hanging out with none other than _Adrien_ instead!"

Alya studied Marinette's face for her reaction. There were pictures of Ladybug and Adrien standing together, then a few shots of them sitting together in front of the runway stage, then a few of shots of them dancing. Just as she had expected, Marinette's face went chalk white and she began to stammer.

"Alya, these—these pictures—err, what do you think they mean?"

"Exactly my question!" Alya exclaimed. "I have a few theories already. Perhaps they just met up and hung out because they were the only two people around the same age since Chat Noir wasn't there, because let's be real, who else would you talk to at a party like that? Manon's mom or another boring adult? Or perhaps they knew each other already before. Perhaps they just happened to be in a lot of pictures together because photographers just do that. Or _perhaps_ —you have competition."

"Don't say that, Alya!" Marinette cried, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "I can't compete with Ladybug! How could I ever measure up?"

"Well, good news for you is that nobody knows who Ladybug's real identity is," Alya laughed, putting an arm around Marinette. "Even if he did like her, he can't spend his life chasing after an anonymous masked girl, can he? And—" she broke off eyeing Marinette suspiciously for her best friend suddenly fell silent. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I don't know," Marinette shrugged, fishing around for words. "Do you really think I have competition with Ladybug?"

"Ah, don't worry, girl," she reassured. "I was mostly joking! Don't take it too seriously. He doesn't even know who she is!"

Alya wasn't quite sure whether Marinette was really that upset by her crazy theories, but she forgot her worries because when they reached the entrance of the school, Adrien's limo pulled up by the curb. She expected Marinette to blush furiously and jump behind her like she usually did. Even though she and Adrien had gotten closer over the last few months just by nature of being schoolmates, Alya thought the shock of seeing those Ladybug pictures would have given Marinette a new reason to be fidgety. The blushing, Marinette did, all right. What Alya didn't expect however, was for a small smile to grace her lips as she peered at Adrien out of the corner of her eyes, as though she had a secret. The moment Adrien spotted them, however, Marinette gasped and looked away.

"You're acting weird today," Alya commented, even though hiding her face abashedly was fairly normal. It was the only normal thing she did so far during that whole interaction. There were times when Marinette was an open book and her expressions were easy to read, but every once in a while, Alya had no idea what the hell was running through her mind.

"Ah, come on, we'll be late for class," Marinette said, grabbing Alya by the wrist and walking inside.

* * *

Marinette was staring at the back of Adrien's head. She did this quite often in class, but today it was even more intentional than usual. Her conversation with Tikki right after her transformation wore off that night replayed inside her head.

" _Phew, that was a really close call," she told her kwami. She leaned against the wall in front of the subway stop waiting for a train while Tikki flew into her purse to replenish herself with a few snacks Marinette had picked up from the party. "I wanted him to know who I was so badly though."_

" _You played it off well, Marinette," Tikki said with her mouth full of cookies. "You must be feeling pretty happy with yourself."_

" _Oh, Tikki, it was such a magical night," Marinette sighed blissfully, tilting her head up to stare dreamily off into the ceiling. "I just wish it could have gone on forever."_

" _Adrien seems to like Ladybug a lot," Tikki chirped in agreement. Then she saw Marinette's face start to fall. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"_

" _He does, doesn't he?" she replied. Her voice sounded hollow even to herself as she contemplated Tikki's words. Just before she kissed him goodbye, she had thought about visiting Adrien as Ladybug during the week, but now she wasn't so sure. "I wonder if that's why he never really noticed Marinette."_

" _I've said it before but I'll say it again," Tikki said, finishing her last bite of dessert, "you_ are _Ladybug with or without the mask."_

" _But if he doesn't know…if he thinks there's a difference," she struggled with her words. "I don't know, Tikki. It makes me wonder if he likes Ladybug for the ideal, iconic heroine…or for me."_

She had most certainly been head over heels with joy, and that joy had still yet to be extinguished even as she sat there in class on a Monday morning, but there was also a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that made her feel uneasy. If Ladybug shone so brightly in his eyes, could he ever dim them enough to see Marinette? Would he still like her if he knew she was Marinette? And more importantly, would he still like her _because_ she was Marinette?

'Psst," Alya whispered to her. "Adrien looks like he's in a good mood if I do say so myself."

"You think so?" she asked uncertainly, staring at his blond hair.

It was unbearable to think that she had kissed Adrien, yet he had no idea that the person he kissed was right behind him. She wished she could be dancing and reveling in the fact that they had kissed but instead she needed to keep it all a secret. It made it all the more difficult when talking to Alya, whom she usually confided in about all things related to Adrien.

She sighed and looked down at her notes, trying to concentrate on class for a change but the same question kept echoing in her mind, demanding her attention: _would he still like her_ because _she was Marinette?_

* * *

Not Chloe. Not Alya. Those two were for certain people he could rule out as not being possibly Ladybug because of how often he saw them when they were in the company of Ladybug. He spent much of class that week pretending to take notes but really making observations and deductions on his notepad. It bothered him that Ladybug could still be someone in a different grade, a different classroom, or outside of their school…but like Plagg said, he had to start somewhere.

"Plagg, it's been nearly a week and I just still can't know for sure," he complained that following Friday night slumped over his bed. His kwami was eating cheese as usual but he spared Adrien a look.

"Not even any leads?" he asked.

"Well, maybe," he said, thinking of the various girls in his classes. He had even followed some of them out of school whenever he could afford the time just to see what they were up to. He also followed some girls that weren't in his class, and whenever he spotted anyone around him that looked like they were around the correct age range, he would try to pay extra attention to them. But even still, the possibilities felt endless and he didn't know how to narrow it down without accidentally leaving out the real Ladybug. "I think I'm just afraid to pinpoint who it is without any concrete proof, so I don't want to say or even think of anyone out loud."

"Maybe there's a part of you that's afraid of the truth?"

Adrien thought about this statement for a moment. He couldn't deny that perhaps Plagg had a point. He'd spent such a long time wondering who Ladybug was behind the mask that when it came to actually discovering who she might be, it was rather daunting.

"Maybe a little," he admitted. Then he let out a frustrated groan. "I wish I knew how to find Ladybug so I could just talk to her at least."

"So you can avoid a repeat of what happened today, huh?" Plagg teased.

"Don't remind me," he grumbled as the incident flashed through his mind. He had followed a random girl from another class after school that day, but being so focused on his objective of observing her closely, he had accidentally followed her into the girl's bathroom.

"These troubles are really not worth it, Monsieur," his kwami droned, finishing the last bite of the Camembert he was working on and picking up another piece.

He was starting to think Plagg was right: he just wasn't cut out for this sort of detective lifestyle. Examining everyone closely this week led to nothing significant or interesting, especially because he knew he was terrible at not getting too distracted. He had followed Juleka the other day only to end up extremely bored, and when he followed Marinette back to her bakery, he ended up buying a whole bundle of cookies and croissants, totally lost track of the mission, and left the shop without gathering a single piece of intel.

"Would it be bad to hope for an Akuma attack?" he asked sarcastically. "I don't know how else to find her." Besides Akuma attacks or perhaps really huge crime scenes, he was under the impression that they often transformed to save random people's days sporadically on their own, a pattern that was impossible to discern.

"Now you're really losing it," Plagg said, shaking his head.

"If only I had a ladybug shaped light to shine in the sky," Adrien sighed.

"A ladybug shaped light?" The kwami considered for a moment before he burst out laughing. "Good one, Adrien. Too bad she's not Batman."

 _Think, Adrien,_ he commanded himself. What was a way he could seek out a conversation with Ladybug without knowing who or where she would be on a day-to-day basis? If only he were as good at investigating as Alya was…

 _Wait a minute. Alya!_

"The Ladyblog," he breathed.

"Er—sorry?" Plagg quipped.

"Maybe I can draw her out with the Ladyblog," he exclaimed, jumping off his bed and pacing around the room.

It was his best chance at getting a controlled meeting with Ladybug anyway, because even if they did meet on a crime scene, they would never have the time for a conversation. This way, they could actually talk in depth, and perhaps he, Adrien, could tell her how he couldn't stop thinking about her…

The only problem was that going to Alya as Adrien would lead to too many unwarranted questions, and Alya would no doubt question the hell out of the situation. No, he'd have to try his luck as Chat Noir this time and tease out information from Ladybug from another angle.

Excitement bubbled inside at the thought of seeing his Lady once again. A midnight rendezvous. It made him smile just thinking about it.

"Whatever you say, Monsieur," Plagg said, shoving the last bit of cheese into his mouth.

* * *

After a full and exhausting Saturday, Alya collapsed onto her bed, ready for sleep. She had spent the first half of the day running errands and taking care of her siblings—which would tire anyone out, really—and the second half out to dinner and a movie with Marinette. She barely had any energy left to post some of her newly evolved theories about Adrien and Ladybug at the Masquerade.

 _Thank God it's Saturday_ , she thought sleepily, her eyes drooping.

 _Tap, tap_.

She thought she heard something, but was too tired to lift her head up and check.

 _Tap, tap, tap…tap, tap._

But it wouldn't stop…

Taking a deep breath for energy, she turned around in her bed to face her window. For a second, she didn't seem to register what was there; everything behind her window was dark and black. But then—her jaw dropped and her heart raced—there was an outline of a figure, and as her awakened senses started coming back to her, she realized it was none other than Chat Noir.

Suddenly alert, she jumped off her bed and crossed over to open the window. _Why would Chat Noir be visiting her at this time of night?_

"Well look what the cat dragged in," she smirked as he hopped into her room. "To what do I owe this great pleasure, Chat Noir?"

"Alya, right? Creator of the Ladyblog?" he asked, then continued without waiting for her response. "Appurrciate you for letting me drop by."

Alya rolled her eyes but she was chuckling on the inside. "I'm guessing it's safe to assume this isn't a catcall?"

"Very safe to assume," he winked. "You've always had such sharp senses, Alya, which is what makes you such a great blossoming journalist."

"Alright, you're puffing me up for a reason, aren't you?" she laughed, plopping herself in her desk chair.

"Like I said—sharp senses," he praised with a bow. "I do, in fact, have a favor to ask of you."

"Jumping straight to the chase, are we?" she asked.

"'A cat in gloves catches no mice'," he quoted, waving his gloved hands at her, "or ladybugs for that matter."

"Oh, it's about Ladybug, eh?" her grin widened. Already, several more theories were hatching—but she'd get to those later. She needed more facts first. "Alright, name it."

"I was wondering if you could possibly send Ladybug a message through your Ladyblog from me," he explained.

"A message," she repeated. He nodded. _A twist of events in this Masquerade drama!_ she thought excitedly. "O…kay. And you ask this of me because you have no other way of contacting her?"

"Er—yeah, you see, we don't know each others identities either," he said. That confirmed a lot for Alya. Not that this information revealed anything in particular; she just enjoyed collecting these little juicy tidbits of data to add to her repertoire of Ladybug knowledge.

"Oh, I see," she said. "May I ask why you need to contact her?"

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," he said, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Hmm, let's see. Maybe it has something to do with the Masquerade and how you weren't there?" she intoned slyly. She burst into laughter at the way he balked at this suggestion. She knew she was evil and she loved it. "What? Cat got your tongue?"

"Like I said," he grumbled in defeat, "too sharp for your own good…"

"Where were you anyways?" she questioned. "And how do you feel about Ladybug hanging out with another guy at the Masquerade, let alone the son and model of the famous designer Gabriel Agreste? Confused? Jealous? Indifferent?"

"This Chat is keeping its tongue," he maintained stubbornly, leaning on her window ledge.

"Well," she said, smiling her devilish smile. "I'll need _something_ in return for this favor you're asking of me after all. Otherwise I won't post your little Ladybug catcall."

"You don't even have a Chat Noir blog," he accused, "and you're asking for information as a favor?"

"That can be easily remedied," she said. "It's like shooting two birds with one stone—I'll post the Ladybug request for you _and_ make a blog dedicated to you. What a deal! How can you refuse my offer?"

"No, I can't tell you," he affirmed, "even though it'd be nice to have a Chat Noir blog." He shook his head again and waved the thought away. " Look, will you please just post it? I'll owe you something else another time. Besides, I'm Chat Noir. I'm pretty sure I can knock you over right now and post it myself."

"Yeah, sure," she said, "if you have both of my laptop and blog passwords, which by the way are different because I'm clever like that."

"Please?" he implored. "I'm making cat eyes for you. And you have an IOU from me."

She scrutinized him unsympathetically for a moment but then sighed as she saw his earnest desire to speak with Ladybug and desperate plea for help. She only hoped she wasn't getting too soft to be an unofficial reporting journalist. "Okay, fine. What do you want me to announce?"

Besides, she consoled herself, to mediate communication between the two superheroes could possibly give her a lot of access to private conversations. She cackled inwardly at the very thought of it.

"Hmm," said Chat Noir thoughtfully. "What time is it right now?"

"11:30 pm," she answered.

"Too last minute," he mumbled to himself. Then he looked up at her. "Okay, tomorrow, then. Sunday at midnight. Chat Noir requests a meeting at…"

He trailed off at her hopeful and eager look, which she had tried but failed to tone down. She attempted to rearrange her face so that she looked more calmly disinterested as she watched him absorbed deep in thought. On the inside, she was anything but patient, but she forced herself not to push anything too hard, in case there was still a chance that he might be specific about—

"The roof of the building where we first met," he said finally.

"And the cross streets?" she asked casually, hoping to catch him slipping up and revealing them to her.

"Nice try," he beamed cheekily, flashing all of his perfect white teeth at her, "but no cigar."

"Oh, come on, you have to at least tell _me_ where you're meeting! Even if I don't broadcast it," she whined. "I get a favor!"

"Aw, can't you just do a cat a noble and unselfish favor out of the sheer kindness of your heart?" he begged.

She gave him an exasperated look but turned to boot up her laptop. "Okay, very well, very well."

"Pawsitively delightful," he grinned, giving her what she thought was an extremely cheesy smile.

"Zip it, kitty, or I might change my mind due to the unnecessary amount of awful puns," she said, cracking her knuckles and preparing to type. Still, she couldn't help thinking how endearing Chat Noir could be and vowed to tell Marinette about this later so that they could laugh about it together. Not to mention she could also tell Marinette that perhaps Ladybug and Chat Noir actually have a thing after all, which meant that Adrien would still be available. Opening her blog page, she started to type. "And don't forget: you owe me."

She really was growing soft.

* * *

The next night, Adrien arrived at his requested meeting place as Chat Noir at a quarter to midnight, wanting to be early so that he wouldn't accidentally miss Ladybug. Now that he was actually out here, he didn't really know what he should say to her. Somehow, he didn't think that telling her as Chat Noir that he couldn't stop thinking about her would have quite the same effect as telling her as Adrien. Asking if they could both drop the masks would be downright stupid, and as Chat Noir, he didn't know if he could share anything personal if she wanted both their secret identities to remain unknown.

He eventually decided to settle on apologizing for not showing up to the Masquerade and see where the conversation led on from there.

He checked the time on his baton. It was now exactly midnight but she still wasn't here yet. He clicked the button for the option to track her to see if she was on her way and his heart plummeted. She was still offline. Which meant that she hadn't transformed.

Adrien was so excited about the prospect of seeing Ladybug once again outside of their usual superhero thing that until he was now finally standing there on the roof under a mild Paris night, he forgot to consider the dreadful possibility that she might not show up, that maybe she hadn't checked the blog, or that maybe she _did_ check the blog and decided she didn't want to come.

Exhaling slowly, he sat down under the stars and decided to wait in silence for another few minutes.

 _12:07…_

 _12:15…_

 _12:30…_

Should he leave?

 _No, just a few more minutes_ …

And then he heard it—the sound of her yoyo wire protracting and retracting. It was now so familiar to his ears that he picked it up at once. Looking towards the direction of the noise, he spotted her swinging around towards him. Relief flooded his veins and as she landed softly next to him, he ran up to meet her.

"Sorry, I'm late, _mon chaton_ ," she greeted breathlessly.

"Don't sweat it, My Lady," he said, bowing.

"Is something wrong, Chat Noir?" she asked, looking around at their surroundings.

"No," he said, "just…wanted to _chat_."

"Really?" she droned, looking bored.

"Really," he said, winking and taking her hand.

"I don't know if this is a good idea, Chat—" she began to say but he put a finger to his lips to quiet her and sat them both down on the edge of the roof so that they were facing the view of the Eiffel Tower with the crescent moon hanging over Paris.

"I mean, this is nice and everything but I don't know if it's a good idea to hang around talking when there's no crime fighting going on," she continued.

"But, My Lady," he said, pouting, "we're always so busy crime fighting, we never get the chance to talk. We'll always have crime to fight but who knows if we'll always have each other. Let Paris be Paris for a few moments without us."

"You say that like you think you might die tomorrow," she joked, looking torn between worry and laughter. "You're not, are you?"

"Nope, I'm fit as a cat and fiddle," he assured her. "Come on, you have to admit it's nice once in a while to casually hang out like this."

"You call summoning me by Ladyblog casual, do you?" she teased, looking at him with that classic devious glint in her eyes that he loved so much.

"Don't pretend you don't like being catcalled like this," he smirked. She giggled.

"Okay, what did you want to talk about, Chat?" she said more seriously. He started feeling nervous again. He realized that despite how much time they had spent together as Ladybug and Chat Noir, they had never had a heart-to-heart. It made sense since they wanted to avoid finding each other's identities, but it felt strange that someone could feel so familiar yet still remain unknown.

"Well, firstly, I just wanted to say I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the Masquerade," he said finally. "I saw the photos though. You looked stunning."

"Thanks! I designed the whole outfit myself," she said proudly, pointing a thumb at her chest.

"Im-purr-ssive," he said. She grinned. _She really does like fashion_ , he thought, remembering the way her face glowed at the runway show.

"But don't be silly Chat, you don't have to apologize for something like that," she chortled. "I missed the inauguration that one time, so I think you get a pass."

"You did," he said, _and I caused an Akuma in your absence_ , he thought. "I guess sometimes even superheroes have important places to be."

"Too true," she agreed. As she looked up at the night sky, he was reminded of the way her eyes reflected the stars at the Masquerade. She had looked so beautiful and he'd felt so close to her in that moment. Yet now, sitting next to her as Chat Noir instead of Adrien, he somehow felt as distant from her as the moon.

"Can I ask where you were during the inauguration?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Her head whipped around to face him and for a split second, he thought he saw a warning look. "I mean—you don't have to tell me the details. I was just curious."

He expected her to scoff and say that any hint of her personal life would be foolishly dangerous to reveal, but she hummed thoughtfully and considered his question instead.

"Hmm, let's just say I was saving my honor during that time," she replied.

"Your honor?" he echoed, baffled at what that could mean.

"I did something embarrassing that day and needed to remedy it," she said simply. "What about you? Where were you last week?"

 _I was there with you,_ he wanted to tell her, but he knew he couldn't. Finally, he settled for an equally cryptic answer.

"I was actually with someone special that night," he murmured, trying to suppress a playful smile.

"Oh," she said, taken aback. It could not be clearer that she did not expect this response from him. "Um, wow, that's—that's great to hear. You deserve someone special."

She smiled and patted his arm but her tone suggested that something was off.

"But no matter what," she continued, "you'll always be _mon minou_."

This struck Adrien as an odd follow-up statement and her voice was…falsely cheery? Wait a minute. Was Ladybug _jealous?_ But that didn't make sense. Wasn't she always rebuffing his flirtatious behavior? But here she was, saying he would always be her _minou_. Ladybug was jealous, even if only a little, but the thought lit a burst of excitement in the pit of his stomach. If only she knew she was actually jealous of herself.

"You deserve someone special, too," he said, suddenly feeling more confident. "Do you think you've found that person yet?"

"I-I've always had…" she stammered, her cheeks turning pink. _I've always had someone special_ , he finished for her in his head. She liked someone, apparently. He knew that already. But was it possible she could slowly and unknowingly fall for him, too? He reached out to place a hand over hers with the purest intention of simply reassuring her, but she shifted uncomfortably and withdrew both hands to her chest.

"Oh! Would you look at the time?" she said in mock surprise as the bells of Notre Dame began resounding in the night. Getting to her feet at once, she began swinging her yoyo.

"Wait," he implored, frantically standing up next to her and holding her wrist back down. He had no idea what to say to make her stay—and in any case, it was getting late and they couldn't stay in their transformations forever—but he couldn't just passively let her go without trying to stop her.

"Chat Noir," she said, her voice suddenly aloof and business-like, "it's late, and I'm really tired. I don't think we should have talked like this."

"But, My Lady—"

" _Au revoir_ , Chat," she said, facing away from him. "You should go home too and get some sleep."

And with that, she zipped off with her yoyo, leaving Adrien to feel like he had just lost her all over again.

* * *

The following Monday at school was excruciatingly slow. Adrien was exhausted from his midnight rendezvous and the conversation with Ladybug weighed so heavily on his mind that he had had trouble getting to sleep afterwards. As a result, he had little energy to concentrate on who Ladybug might be for he was much more distracted by trying to analyze the events of the night before from every possible standpoint. Not that the mission of trying to figure out her identity ever left his mind. It was merely running in the background, constantly buzzing somewhere in his ears behind the more pressing concern that 1) Ladybug was jealous and 2) she didn't want to talk about it and had left without another word.

"What's up with you, man?"

"Ow—what?"

Nino had elbowed Adrien in the ribs, promptly shaking him out of his reverie. It was nearing the end of their final period and the last ten minutes were lost to lack of concentration so their teacher decided to let them take a break as long as they stayed until the bell rang.

"Dude, you've been so out of it this past week," he said conversationally. "And you look especially bad today. What's up?"

As much as Adrien liked Nino and wanted to have a friend he could confide in, there were certain things he just couldn't tell him about, and his crush on Ladybug was definitely one of them. First of all, it was embarrassing to admit it out loud to other people and second of all, it would probably prompt a lot of questions about how he knew Ladybug so well, and he most certainly could not tell anyone he was Chat Noir.

But even as he thought this, Ladybug's voice echoed in his mind.

 _"Just promise me you'll let your closest friends around you see more of who you really are. Otherwise, I think they'd be missing out."_

He did genuinely wish he could confide in Nino…perhaps he wouldn't have to tell him the whole truth yet still reveal more of himself?

"Well," he started, then, bracing himself for the weight of confiding in someone for the first time, continued. "It's going to sound cliché but…there's this girl."

"Alright, alright, I'm listening," Nino said eagerly.

How was he supposed to explain that he liked someone but didn't know who she really was? And how, at the same time, he knew her on a certain level that made him certain he loved her? Not only did it sound confusing, but there was no way in hell he would be able to tell Nino about the conversation from last night. He took a deep breath and went on.

"Have you ever felt like you knew someone really well on the interior but on the exterior, you're less sure about who they are but even though you try to find out, you're constantly missing them?"

He was met with silence and Nino's wide-eyed confusion.

"Uhh, not sure that I have," he said. "Is this a pen pal or internet crush or something?"

Adrien sighed dejectedly; he should have expected this. Nobody could really understand what he was going through. Then he felt Nino's hand on his shoulder. "But hey, I'll support you in whatever you're going through, dude, so continue on."

Adrien was grateful for this show of friendship but he wasn't sure how he could be any more explicit.

"Sorry, Nino, it's more complicated to explain than I thought," he groaned. "Bottom line is, I'd like to get to know her even better."

"Hey, you're the one who's always telling me to be myself," Nino said. "So just tell her the truth?"

There was no way Adrien could explain to Nino the frustration of how he and Ladybug were technically not supposed to tell each other the truth. If only he could find and talk to Ladybug as Adrien himself—Ladybug wouldn't be as keen to avoid the conversation if she at least thought he was the one unmasked. Wanting them both to remain unknown dictated much of her behavior towards him as Chat Noir.

"Thanks, Nino," Adrien eventually told him, patting him on the shoulder. "You're right, of course." The bell rang at that moment. "I'll see you tomorrow—fencing lessons," he said, getting up from his seat and leaving at top speed.

Now that school was officially over, he allowed his mind to settle back on the ever-pressing thoughts that had been plaguing him all weekend. Who is Ladybug? And did she like him back? How could he seek out a conversation with her as Adrien? If only he knew her civilian identity. What if she went to school with him? What if—

 _Wait a minute._ He stopped in his tracks, feeling as though he should have a heavier load on his shoulders than he currently did. He felt around his chest and torso and realized what was missing. Where was his book bag? He had left in such a dazed hurry that he'd forgotten to take his bag with him. Shaking his head at himself, he turned around and ran back to the classroom. If his obsession with the mystery of Ladybug kept up like this, he was going to lose it soon like Plagg predicted. The combination of sleep deprivation and Ladybug troubles seemed to be consuming most of his brainpower, absorbing everything that kept him present in the physical world and causing him to become more absentminded than ever. It was just so frustrating to think that the real Ladybug could literally be right in front of him and he couldn't see it…

 _WHAM!_

Adrien fell backwards in surprise, his head whirling. He had turned a corner and ran straight into someone. Thoroughly annoyed with himself for being so out of it and making him slightly later than he already was going to be for fencing lessons, he quickly sprang to his feet.

"I'm so sorry—" he said, finally looking down at whom he had crashed into. "—Marinette!" His poor classmate was on the floor rubbing her head and the stack of books she had been presumably holding before they collided was now sprawled everywhere. Feeling terrible, he began to help her pick them up at once.

"A-Adrien!" she exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. "Oh, n-no! You don't have to do that. It's okay, d-don't worry about it."

As she bent down next to him to collect her books, Adrien's heart seemed to have stopped. Among her various textbooks was a notebook that had fallen open to a page that she undoubtedly had spent a lot of time on. And as he stared at it, every thought, every conjecture about Ladybug that had been passively ruminating in his mind the past week seemed to click into place right then and there. Recognition struck him in a flash—even though Marinette snatched her notebook out of sight before he could fully register the contents of the entire page, she wasn't quick enough to prevent him from seeing the one thing he needed to see: an elaborate design of the exact dress that Ladybug wore at the Masquerade down to the polka-dotted sash wrapped around the waist.

" _Thanks! I designed the whole outfit myself!"_ Ladybug's voice resounded in his ears, causing him to feel lightheaded as his heart continued to cease pumping blood to his brain. _Ladybug is Marinette. Marinette is Ladybug. Marinette was his Lady._ _The girl he'd adored, admired, and loved all this time was none other than_ Marinette _._ The realization sent a jolt of electricity through him, jumpstarting his heart so that it was now pounding so fast, his chest was starting to hurt.

"Sorry, Adrien," she mumbled, fumbling with her backpack. "I'm so sorry, I've been really sleepy today and I'm always such a klutz, what must you—"

"N-no, you—you're fine," he stammered in shock, unable to suppress his wide grin while the phrase ' _it's her, it's her, it's her!'_ echoed loudly over and over again in his head. "Say, Marinette—"

 _Bzzzzt._

He jumped and reached for the phone in his back pocket.

"Oh, no, I've got to run," he frowned, his spirits sinking. Giving her a classic Chat salute, he said, "catch you later," and ran off, leaving her stunned and confused in his wake.

In any case, he thought as he hurried off to grab his bag, he needed to think more about what to do with this new and groundbreaking revelation before he slipped up and ruined everything by acting too quickly like he usually did. He was determined to get it right this time. Now that he knew who Ladybug was, he had to be careful if he truly wanted to pursue her and make her his own.

He smiled as he glanced back at Marinette's retreating figure hiding her head down in shame. He was relieved and delighted to know that discovering _she_ was his Lady did not decrease his feelings for her at all. He had to talk to her. It was time for Operation Ladybug to be set into play.

But until then, he thought, still feeling elated despite his need to focus on fencing soon, he could allow himself to relish in this small moment of victory. Because once fencing lessons were over, the real work would commence.

 _Let the cat-and-bug games begin_.

* * *

— _to be continued_ —


	3. Cat Without Gloves

A/N: Ah, I know the Masquerade train has gone on, but I still want to finish this fic! Expect some Marichat in the next and (probably) final chapter. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or any of the characters.

* * *

Adrien was having doubts again—an unsurprising result of taking a long contemplative shower. He had just come back from fencing and was trying to plot out his next move with the newly discovered information that Marinette was most likely Ladybug; but with time to think in the befuddling steam and soothing waters, he was starting to retrace steps he had already taken. Yes, he had just seen Marinette's notebook with Ladybug's dress, but what if it was a coincidence? What if Marinette was just into fashion and therefore sketched Ladybug's outfit after seeing pictures? There was proof, yes, but it wasn't concrete and solid enough. He just needed one last confirming evidence before plunging into action.

On the other hand, although Adrien never exactly considered Marinette the closest of friends—as they didn't know each other extremely well—, he had to admit their personalities did seem to fit. Marinette may be clumsy as she had admitted to him at the Masquerade, but now that he thought about it, there was definitely always a hidden fiery passion for justice and goodness inside of her that came out when the situation demanded it. For Ladybug—the image of a masked super heroine—that fire was already at the forefront.

He knew one thing for sure: Ladybug was wrong about her belief that Chat Noir would like her less if he knew the real her. Despite the differences in their displayed confidence levels, the core of who they were with that fiery passion and strategic cleverness was the same—and that was what he had always loved about her the most. He knew that if a side of himself shone out as Chat, it was unsurprising that a side of Marinette would shine out in Ladybug as well. If anything, the prospect of knowing she was Marinette excited him, for he now had new territory to explore that could only further develop his feelings for her, and he was eager to jump in and experience that in novel ways.

As he dried his hair back in his room, his eyes fell once again upon Ladybug's red polka-dotted sash. Running his hands along the smooth silky fabric, his brain worked fast. If Marinette and Ladybug were the same person, she probably would never admit upfront that he had found her out if he confronted her directly. Stubbornness was, of course, her best and worst attribute. It was always infuriatingly irresistible. No, he would have to go about it discreetly and cause her to admit something without realizing she was revealing herself.

As he stared back down at the sash, an idea lit up in his mind. He was going to have so much fun at school this week.

* * *

It was Tuesday morning and Tikki was poking her incessantly as Marinette held the pillow over her head even more tightly. She still had not quite recovered from the late night Sunday talk—she _refused_ to call it a rendezvous—with Chat Noir, or from the collision with Adrien the day before. She was torn between abject horror at her klutzy behavior and sheepish glee from the fact that he had touched her shoulder. It was strange, she thought, how despite having kissed him at the Masquerade, a simple touch from him when she was Marinette instead of Ladybug still sent the butterflies swarming aggressively in her stomach.

"Just five more minutes, Tikki," she moaned under her pillow. To her dismay, her kwami did not oblige.

"Marinette, do you realize you've got about fifteen minutes until class starts?" Tikki said, holding up the alarm clock to her face. Marinette peeked out of the pillow to glance at it.

"Okay, okay," she said miserably, throwing the blankets off of her and grabbing her clothes. Good thing it only took about five minutes to run to school.

"Which are you preoccupied with this morning: your sudden jealousy about Chat Noir or your embarrassment from knocking Adrien over yesterday?" the kwami prompted.

"Tikki, we must never speak about that rendez—I mean that _talk_ with Chat Noir ever again," she scolded, pulling her jeans over her legs. Then she paused. "On second thought, we must never talk about either of those moments ever again."

To her annoyance, Tikki merely giggled. "Oh, Marinette. What a week you're having. First, your Masquerade night with Adrien, then your rendezvous with Chat—"

" _Not_ a rendezvous!" she corrected, blushing furiously, but Tikki kept on giggling.

"I think someone is a little confused," the kwami teased.

"I've always liked Adrien and _only_ Adrien—no confusion there!" she insisted while tying her hair into their usual pigtails. "The thing with Chat wasn't really anything."

"Whatever you say," Tikki winked.

It was true that she did feel perhaps the slightest twinge of jealousy the other night, Marinette thought as she ran out the front door towards Dupont. It wasn't that she had _feelings_ for Chat Noir—something she had told herself for the umpteenth time since their meeting—, she was just surprised and maybe slightly annoyed that Chat eventually gave his attention elsewhere other than her. Despite the fact that his flirtatious behavior was often over the top, she had to admit it had always made her feel…special. But that didn't mean it was jealousy, right? Any girl would be slightly annoyed if a guy liked her but ended up finding or flirting with someone else, wouldn't they? Just her? No way.

And besides, she thought as Adrien climbed out of his limo and waved at her, even if she was slightly jealous about someone else, there was nothing in the world that could compete with the way Adrien made her feel with the most basic and mundane interactions and— _oh God_ , he was approaching her!

"Morning, Marinette," he greeted benignly. Yup, there was definitely nothing that could compare.

"M-morning," she squeaked shyly. He was talking to her—as Marinette!—and she still had no clue how to maintain her cool.

"I have a favor to ask you, do you mind staying behind a little after school today?" he asked. Then he did something that made her heart stop. Leaning in closer, he whispered, "It's a super secret mission."

She could still feel his breath on her ear before she responded, "Y-yes, of course, Adrien. A-Anything for you!"

"Thanks, Marinette," he smiled, withdrawing back and patting her shoulder. "Talk to you later, then!"

She watched him disappear into the school with Nino, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. He had touched her shoulder _again_.

"Wow, what was that?" said a voice in Marinette's ear, causing her to jump up and yelp.

"What?!" she exclaimed, whipping around. It was Alya with the familiar smirk and knowing expression on her face. Marinette did not like her scrutinizing look one bit. "Oh, you scared me, Alya."

"Something that's clearly not very difficult to do," her best friend laughed. Marinette avoided her gaze and tried to will herself to stop blushing.

"Adrien just said he needed help with one of his homework assignments—that's all," she said. She wasn't sure why she was keeping the details of the interaction from Alya. Perhaps when Adrien said it was a "super secret mission," it made Marinette feel like he had something to share that should be kept between just them. His clandestine manner triggered an excitement of the hidden kind within her and it was of utmost important to treasure it privately for herself instead of exposing it to anyone else.

"Ah, well finally you have the opportunity to spend time with him, then!" Alya said triumphantly, throwing an arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess so," Marinette laughed convincingly. "Come on, class is about to begin."

But all her classes that day seemed to drag on forever. With the promise of a "super secret" meeting with the love of her life, Marinette had to admit it was really difficult to focus on anything else. She failed to keep her gaze on anything else but the back of his head, and scenarios after scenario were playing out their possibilities in her head. Was he going to invite her to the movies? Was it possible he liked her and was going to tell her so? Or was it really just about homework?

Just as she thought she couldn't stand tearing her hair over all the potential possibilities of this "super secret mission" anymore, the final bell rang and they were free at last. She looked over to Alya at once; she merely gave her a wink and a thumbs-up before collecting her bag and leaving class without her. Her heart clenched in nervous anticipation—Marinette really had to face Adrien alone now.

Feeling shy again, she glanced determinedly down at her hands anxiously wringing and unwringing themselves around her backpack handle beneath the desk as Adrien turned around to speak to her.

"Hey," he said simply, leaning his elbows on her desk. She knew her face was probably as red as tomato and her blue eyes slowly trailed upwards to meet his green ones.

"Hey," she mumbled quietly. "So umm…W-what can I help you with?"

"I was hoping we could maybe talk about it in the park," he suggested, pointing his thumb at the classroom's exit. "Want to take a walk?"

She stared at him unable to believe her ears. Adrien wanted to take a stroll in the park? With her? The butterflies were starting up again, taking flight and flapping around.

"O-okay," she smiled.

They walked side by side in silence—her, nervous; him, completely at ease. She watched him walking with his arms swinging by his side and his head held high, the image of confidence that she wished she had as Marinette. She needed Ladybug, but she couldn't do it now. _You_ are _Ladybug with or without the mask_ , Tikki's voice echoed in her ears, yet she still had a hard time trusting in herself.

"How was your weekend?" he asked cheerfully. "Since we didn't get a chance to talk much at all yesterday."

"Oh! It was—it was…" For a moment, Marinette had to think about it—the fact that he was asking her at all made her spirits soar. But then, as the events of the weekend slowly came back to her, she thought of Chat Noir again and her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch.

"…great," she finished lamely. The butterflies that had ignited inside her from the moment Adrien approached her seemed to have scattered, leaving nothing but confusion in their wake. _What was it with these weird feelings about Chat Noir anyway? She was with Adrien right now, so she needed to focus!_

"Just 'great'?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Er—yes! Nothing in particular to report about," she insisted, mentally waving aside all intruding thoughts of Chat. "Uh, what about yours?"

"It was grand," he answered, beaming at her and causing her heart to flutter. She loved seeing him so joyful like this and could only hope she had something to do with it.

When they reached the park, he gestured for her to sit down on a bench before plopping down next to her. As she sat, she felt the nervous energy begin to fade away like they did when they started dancing at the Masquerade. It was comforting to know that no matter how anxious she felt whenever she started a new interaction with him, it had always transitioned smoothly into familiar normality, as though they had been close friends all along. Perhaps the more opportunity she had to experience this, she thought hopefully, the easier it would be to spend more time together as well.

"So, um, what did you want to talk about?" she asked, voice much steadier than previously. She was so proud of herself and knew Alya would be too if she could see her now.

"Right,—so you're into fashion and art, correct?"

"Correct," she nodded. "You need help with something regarding that?"

"Yes, but—" he broke off, sighing. "I wouldn't trust just anybody with this, which is why I said it was a 'super secret mission.' So I need to know first that I can count on you."

At these words, Marinette tensed up. Proving to Adrien that she was someone he could one hundred percent rely on was one of the most important missions she could have at the moment and she could not afford to mess it up. She would do everything in her power to ensure his trust in her.

"Yes, definitely," she affirmed, straightening her back and looking serious. "You can count on me."

"Thanks, Marinette," he said, flashing all of his perfect white teeth at her, causing her to fidget with her backpack again. He reached into his own book bag and rummaged around. She eyed his every movement, hardly noticing that she was holding her breath as she wondered what he was going to show her.

She craned her neck to get a closer look as he withdrew a hand out of the bag. She saw a flash of familiar red and blinked. It couldn't be, she thought, rubbing her eyes. But as he held out the object he had retrieved before her, there was no mistaking it now. Staring down at it, she saw her very own silky red sash complete with every black polka dot she had deliberately sown and felt the bottom drop out under her stomach. She completely forgot she had dropped it at the end of the Masquerade, and what was worse, she had just promised Adrien he could trust her, but now she knew she had to lie to him, no matter what it was he asked of her.

"What's that exactly?" she asked, plastering the most normal and interested smile she could muster.

"But Marinette," he said, gazing at her with widened eyes, "I think you already know."

Her breath hitched. No, no, _no_ , there was no way Adrien could have found out. _Play it cool_ , she told herself.

"Um, sorry? I don't know what you mean," she said.

"Do you happen to have anything to do with this?" he asked, holding the sash higher under her nose.

"W-what makes you think that?" she countered, sweat beads beginning to form at the back of her neck. _Keep calm…_

"Well," he said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, "please don't be angry with me—"

 _Oh, God. What did he do? Does he know?_ Her heart drummed louder and louder in her chest and she stared in horror at the sash, unable to meet his eyes.

"—but I saw a picture of this sash in your sketchbook the other day," he finished, then added, "er—by accident, that is."

 _Oh, no_ , she thought, _he has proof!_ Her body felt numb from the shock and she had no idea what to do. If he had indeed seen the picture, then he had a very, _very_ huge clue.

 _But wait_ , she corrected herself as her heart rate began to level, _a clue is not concrete proof!_ and, thinking fast, she knew she could tweak it to remedy the situation. She _had_ to.

"Ah, well," she invented wildly, "Ladybug tends to like keeping as much of herself as possible secret—"

"Yes, I think I'm rather familiar with that," he said, staring down at her. She blinked, feeling the heat creep back into her cheeks.

 _No, stop._ _This is crucial; you need to save your own skin!_ she told herself. Forcing herself to think straight, she continued.

"Exactly," she said, pointing her fingers at him in agreement. "So because of that, she didn't want it to be very widely known that it was actually I who helped her design the dress she wore that night."

"Really?" Adrien asked. She felt like melting under his gaze, which was currently full of interest in her and her alone. "Er—and how did that come about?"

"Oh! Well," she tittered uneasily, "because I designed Jagged Stone's album cover that one time, and that one bowler hat for your Father, she ended up finding me and asking if I could help her out on the down-low so she didn't have to come into close proximity with a more publicly licensed designer. And besides, she wanted a very unique look, which is better found in a more small and private business, you know?"

"I see…" he trailed off. Marinette had the impression he was thinking hard about something.

"Umm—so, hey. Did you…still need my help then?" she prompted again, trying to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters and hoping he'd buy the story. "Because if not—"

"Actually," he interrupted, shoving the sash into her hands. The contact of his hand on hers made her blush yet again. "If you designed this for Ladybug, then perhaps you know a way to find her and return it to her. After all, it does belong to her and part of me feels guilty for keeping it without knowing whether she actually wants it back or not."

"Oh, um, I'm sure if she hasn't swung by to visit you and demand it back yet, she has no problem with you keeping it," she said, half-babbling and half-giggling as she tried to push the folded fabric back into his hands.

"No, I insist," he said, closing her hand around the sash with his own. She looked up at him in surprise. "It feels wrong to keep it when I don't know how she really feels about me."

 _If you're wondering how Ladybug feels, I…really, really like you_ , she thought in her head. The initial excitement she had felt about going on a "super secret mission" walk with Adrien had now trickled away, only to be replaced by crippling doubt and sinking defeat. Her suspicions were right: Adrien really did like Ladybug more than he could ever like her. That was why he had reduced her to being a messenger girl, a simple mediator between him and the one he actually had feelings for.

And maybe, just maybe, even Chat Noir—she berated herself for thinking of the stupid kitty at all—would also like her only as Ladybug and not as herself. Maybe that was why she was so upset over the idea that Chat had found someone else he deemed "special."

"Uh—Marinette?"

His voice cut across her brooding contemplation and her eyes met his.

"Of course, Adrien," she said, pocketing the sash in her own backpack, the falsely cheery voice a stark contrast from how she really felt inside. "Anything for you—like I promised, right?"

* * *

For the rest of the week, Adrien wasn't sure if he regretted his decision to give the sash back to Marinette or not. Whenever they saw each other, he would try to wave hello and she would look away. He wondered what was going through her mind. Did it make her angry that he gave it back to her? He hadn't lied; he _did_ feel strange keeping it when he wasn't sure how Ladybug really felt about him. He wasn't even sure why he acted the way he did, but because he had caught her in the lie, he had felt inspired in that moment to let her take the sash. Now he wasn't so sure if it was the right thing to do.

On the flip side, he knew for a fact that Marinette was Ladybug. Her lie about being commissioned to design the dress was clever—if only she knew that Ladybug had already told him as Chat Noir that _she_ had designed it. The poor girl had dug herself into a hole without realizing it, which made him feel guiltier. He never intended to be manipulative. He hadn't had a clue how the conversation would go down before he started it. He just sort of…went with the flow.

Adrien wondered what he could do to get to know Marinette better and simply just spend more time with her. He'd always admired her. She had designed the winning hat for his father's contest and the cover for Jagged Stone, and if he were honest with himself, he had always found her really cute.

 _Hmm,_ perhaps a certain cat would have to visit her tonight and have a conversation with her. Getting to know her from different angles was becoming a thing, he realized. Not that he minded.

"Plagg, let's go," he told his kwami. Plagg looked up from his slice of cheese and stared at him in bewilderment.

"Go where?" he asked.

"Ladybug—I mean, Marinette's place," he said.

"What? That's a bit rash, don't you think?" the kwami asked. "It's a Friday night, let's relax and watch TV."

"You're one to tell me about rash. You just want to finish eating your cheese," Adrien accused.

" _Excuzes-moi_?" Plagg protested, "I merely—"

He broke off with a gasp, his eyes staring at a point somewhere behind Adrien.

"You won't need to go after all," he said and, taking the rest of his cheese, flew away to hide in one of the drawers. Following his gaze, Adrien turned around to face his window and his eyes widened in surprise.

Ladybug was right outside, hanging upside down on her yo-yo and tapping on the glass. In a confused daze, Adrien walked up and pushed the windowpane open. Leaning his elbows on the sill, he grinned up at her.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," he said. It was all he could do to stop himself from full-on smirking.

"Sorry to drop in like this, Adrien," she said, turning with her body still suspended in the air so that her neck extended and she faced him right side up. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?"

"There's never a bad time if it's you," he said, resting his chin on his arms. _What was he saying?_ He needed to be more serious and keep the Chat flirtation to a minimum but the sight of Ladybug at his window and the knowledge of her identity just gave him a rush he couldn't quite explain. "Umm—I mean, what's up?"

"I—uh—talked to your classmate Marinette this week," she said. He reached out a hand to her to pull her inside but she hesitated. "Err—" she broke off, sounding uncertain, "I don't think I should come in. I meant for this to be a short visit."

"Oh," he said, feeling disappointed. "Busy with superhero stuff?"

"No—I mean—," she stammered, then sighed. "Er—yes. Something like that."

"I understand," he said, dropping his hand back down at his side and feeling his spirits sink. Why didn't she want to stay? Perhaps he had read all the signs wrong and she really didn't like him at all.

He felt her hand on his cheek and looked up at once. She was looking at him with furrowed brows, the same concerned expression she gave him at the end of the Masquerade night, throwing his stomach into a fresh round of somersaults.

"Hey, don't look so sad," she said. "It doesn't suit you."

For her, he smiled.

"Okay, not sad anymore," he said brightly. "So, you were saying you talked to Marinette?"

She withdrew her hand and her eyes darted around, looking anywhere but at him.

"Err—yes. About that," she said. Untying something around her waist, she brought it out under the light of Adrien's room.

 _Her sash._ Adrien looked up at her with a brow raised. What was she presenting this to him for?

"She told me you felt bad keeping it but…" she trailed off, biting her lip. "I already knew I had dropped it and I…wouldn't have minded if you kept it. So, if you please, you can take it back."

He stared down at the sash, casting about for something to say. The fabric seemed to be changing hands a lot, and if Ladybug made the extra trip just to give it back to him, did it mean what he thought it meant? He was afraid to hope.

"Um, thanks," he said, still keeping his hands at his side. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"Token from the Masquerade," she shrugged, still not looking at him. "Something to remember me by."

"I remember you just fine," he said. Then his smile faded and he inwardly cringed at his words. _Why couldn't he keep a hold on his cat tongue?_ "Uh—that is to say…"

His mind went numb. Her stark azure eyes had finally glanced up to meet his and any words that he meant to say to cover up his initial stupid phrases slipped from his brain. All he could focus on was how he was close enough to count a few freckles peeking out from under her mask. Of course, Marinette had freckles, too. How had he never noticed?

Reaching out a hand to take the sash, he let it rest upon her outstretched one. She didn't move, but remained hanging onto her yo-yo wire. He wished he could take her into his arms right then and there. Time seemed to have frozen.

 _Tell her!_ his head shouted as he continued to gaze into those beautiful eyes, eyes that were wide with anticipation. Wasn't this something he had been dreaming of? An opportune moment to finally tell her how he felt?

"Ladybug, I—"

His voice cracked. The confession hitched in his throat. He couldn't tell her—not like this. Now that he knew Ladybug was Marinette, if he was going to tell her he loved her, he had to do it the right way, masks off and hearts open.

And besides, Ladybug—or Marinette—didn't seem like herself. Something was off about the way her eyes drooped and the way she kept biting her lip. He longed to know what was going on in her mind.

"You told me just now not to be sad," he said, finally taking the sash out of her hands, "but you don't look so happy yourself. What's wrong?"

"I—I'm not—I don't—" she said. "I don't know what you mean."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You can tell me."

His eyes bored into hers but she blinked and looked away. Still biting her lip, she rotated again so that she was facing him upside down. She wasn't going to tell him.

"I should probably go," she said at last. He was disappointed to say the least, but if she didn't want to stay and talk about it, then he had to respect her wishes.

"Okay," he said dejectedly. "Can I…at least thank you for this?"

He held up the sash. Her eyes alighted upon it and then flickered back to his face as she thought about his question.

"You already did," she said. He shook his head.

"Please," he said, smiling at her. She blinked at him.

"Okay," she whispered.

Leaning closer, he cupped her cheeks despite her being upside down. She licked her lips nervously but didn't move away. Taking this as a sign, he closed the remaining space between them and grazed her lips with his own.

 _This was Marinette he was kissing_ , he thought as he closed his eyes and took in every curve of her lips. He pictured her usual cute bashful grin while she nibbled on his upper lip and he felt the heat rising at the back of his neck. Knowing Ladybug was Marinette only fueled his excitement to greater heights, fanning the flames in his heart and causing it to race faster and faster as he felt her mouth move slowly and gently against his.

But before he could fully appreciate the kiss, it was over. She pulled away, catching her breath, looking anywhere but at him. The sudden absence of her soft lips left him wanting more—it was this more than anything that made him say it. Before he could stop himself, the words came tumbling out of his mouth.

"I…really like you," he breathed huskily, his hand still cradling her face.

That got her attention quick. Her eyes snapped to his at once, wide-eyed and scared, and Adrien realized his huge mistake a second too late. He mentally smacked his own head. _Why couldn't he keep his damn mouth shut this entire night?_

"W-what?!"

"I—I mean—that is to say—"

"Adrien, think about what you're saying," she said, her voice suddenly sharp and tense. "You don't even know me."

 _Oh._ Is that what she was so upset about?

"But—" _But he did!_ Yet there was no way he could explain it to her right now without her getting angrier than she already was. What could he possibly say?

"I'm sorry, I've overstayed my visit," she said, fingers burrowing into her forehead in frustration. "I shouldn't have come in the first place."

And without another word, she pulled on her yo-yo and zipped up above his window.

"Mar—Ladybug—wait!" But it was too late. She had already gone off into the night.

Throwing himself onto his bed, he groaned loudly into his pillow.

"Ugh, Plagg," he said, turning to face the ceiling and covering his face with his hands as his kwami came out of hiding. "I've made a real mess of things."


	4. Cat's out of the Bag

A/N: I am.. so sorry this took me so long to update. I hate leaving things unfinished but hey! Here it is! The final installment of this masquerade fiasco. :) This is the first fic I've ever written for ML and I'm honestly, as long as it took, really proud/happy to see how it's developed up until now. I'm glad I can finally say I've finished this, haha. Anyways. I hope y'all enjoy!

* * *

"Don't worry, Marinette, you did the right thing."

Tikki was hovering over a dejected Marinette's shoulder and patting her head, which was resting on her arms upon the railing of her balcony. She had spent the entire Saturday after last night's visit with Adrien feeling miserable and was now spending much needed alone time with the peaceful night sky around her just thinking about the last two weeks. Although in the morning and afternoon, she had helped out with the bakery, done some homework, and talked to Alya on the phone—everything that amounted to a reasonably productive day—nothing Marinette did made herself feel any better. It was all Tikki could do to try and cheer her up.

"I know, Tikki," she said. "But that's not what's bothering me."

Adrien liked _Ladybug_. The truth was out. And while she supposed his affection was what she wanted, this new development did the opposite of ecstatic for her. She touched a finger to her lips. She had _kissed_ Adrien—twice! And both times felt so incredible and magical and it gave her butterflies to relive the moments in her mind but… Could he _really_ like her if he didn't know her true identity?

Then there was the complication of Chat Noir. She had been stubbornly preventing her thoughts from straying anywhere near the midnight rendezvous they had. There was just no way she was jealous over that stupid cat. No way. She refused to think about it, yet it kept cropping back up in her mind and demanding her attention.

She lifted her head and looked out into the city, letting the beauty of the lights below consume her. Closing her eyes, she took it all in: the fresh air, the sounds of cars whooshing by, the smell of pasta from a nearby restaurant. Her kwami sat down on her shoulder and touched her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Marinette, but I know it'll all be okay."

Despite feeling terrible, Marinette appreciated this small show of solidarity, that even if nothing could be said to cheer her up, Tikki would nevertheless always be there for her.

"I don't know, Tikki," she said. "I'm confused."

"It's okay," the kwami smiled. "Just talk it out with me."

"Well for starters," Marinette said, "I'm confused about why I was so upset when Chat Noir said he was with another special someone that wasn't me. I'm confused because I know I like Adrien and so how could I like Chat? And worst of all, I'm confused because all I've ever wanted is for Adrien to notice and like me, but it just…didn't turn out the way I expected, and I don't know what to do with that."

"But you _are_ Ladybug without the mask," Tikki reminded her, "so what's so wrong about Adrien liking that? I'm sure he sees that, too!"

"How do you know, Tikki?"

"He seems like a smart boy. Who you are shines out in Ladybug more than you realize."

"I don't know, though," Marinette said. "Even if that were true, you can't deny that Ladybug has more shine than I do."

"You'll never know if you don't spend more time with him," Tikki said.

"Ugh, I don't think I can face him right now," she groaned.

"It'll be okay," Tikki said with an assuring tone. She floated over to face Marinette, who caught the kwami in her hands. "Everything will work out in the end. You'll see."

"I don't see how life could get any more confusing," Marinette said, brows furrowed. Her lips curled in thought, wondering how in the world she even got herself into this mess. Maybe going to the Masquerade was a bad idea after all.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice spoke, breaking her out of her reverie.

"Fancy seeing you out here."

Marinette jumped, still holding Tikki tightly in her hands. Panicking, she hurriedly shoved her poor kwami into the flowerbed next to her before turning back around.

Apparently, her life _could_ get more confusing. Reclining there right beneath the Wi-Fi antenna was none other than Chat Noir.

"Ch-Chat Noir!" she said, trying to recollect herself and remain calm. "Uh, what are you doing out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same," he said, swinging that ridiculous tail of a belt of his around like a lasso.

"Well, it's my house, isn't it?" she said, crossing her arms at once. He looked down at her with his usual sidelong smirk, the corners of his lips stretching to reveal perfect white teeth. It struck her then how mildly attractive he was and, annoyed at herself for feeling that way, immediately decided that she didn't want to see his face anymore. "What do you want, anyway? I'm not in the mood."

"Hey, relax," he said, holding his hands up in defense. "I just happened to be in the area tonight, spotted you, and decided it would be fun to say hi to an old friend."

"Since when were we 'old friends?'" she asked, smiling in spite of herself.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe since I saved you a couple times over the last year or so?" he responded, still grinning. She wanted to smack that infuriatingly cute smile off his face.

"I don't need saving," she said proudly, her hands on her waist. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

"What's got your whiskers all tangled up, Princess?" he asked, turning over onto his stomach and propping his chin up with his fists. He tilted his head towards her and winked. She rolled her eyes.

"None of your business. I'm just not having such a great day, that's all," she said, walking towards the trap door leading back down to her room. She could not _believe_ Chat Noir would show up unannounced like this while she was going through an emotional crisis. She grabbed the handle of it and looked back up at him. "So goodbye. Have a nice night."

"Wait, don't go!" he yelped, holding his hand out. "Er — I mean…"

He scratched his head, ears drooping, suddenly shy. This notion did not improve Marinette's determination to stop finding him attractive.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked.

"Um — hey," he said. "Didn't you drop something in your flowerbed when I scared you earlier?"

 _Tikki!_ she thought as her heart gave a violent jolt. _Did he see her?_

"Uh, yeah! You're right!" she said, laughing slightly and letting go of the door handle. "It was my phone!"

Running over to the flowerbed, she discreetly pulled Tikki out and quickly deposited her in the inner pocket of her jacket. Sighing with relief, she turned back around, fully intending to go back down to her room, but before she could take a single step forward, her heart dropped in horror. Chat Noir had unapologetically plopped himself down right on top of her trap door and was casually admiring the ring on his gloved hands.

"It's a nice night, you know," he said airily. "It'd be a shame if you went back inside so soon."

Marinette was too shocked for words. Her heart rate was steadily increasing. What was Chat playing at? Was he flirting with her? And if so, didn't he supposedly have a special someone out there that he had missed the Masquerade Ball for?

 _Someone special…_

Taking a deep breath, she regained her tact. As conflicted as she felt over the new and strange developments that had been happening over the last week, she couldn't resist taking this opportunity to quench her curiosity.

"Alright," she said, her voice steady. "I'm all yours."

* * *

When Adrien arrived on Marinette's balcony as Chat Noir to try and talk to her, he wasn't expecting it to actually work. So when she sat down on the ground next to him, he had no idea where to start. He tried to cast about for something to say, but it was her who spoke first.

"So why isn't Ladybug with you tonight?" she asked, leaning her back against the walls of the balcony.

"Does she have to be with me everywhere I go?" he said with a grin. When he saw the look on her face however, his smile faded. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She corrected her expression, forcing her eyes to crinkle at the corners in false cheeriness. "I mean, even Ladybug can't tame a wildcat like you, huh?"

Adrien studied her face carefully. If she was Ladybug — which, she _was_ — she was clearly playing some sort of game with him right now. He just couldn't quite figure out her intentions.

"What's it to you, anyways?" he asked.

"Nothing," she repeated, shrugging. "I mean, you're right. She doesn't always have to be with you wherever you go. It doesn't take a genius to see that you didn't go to the Masquerade with her, for example."

He raised an eyebrow at that. Was she going to scold him about it even out in her civilian form? "Even superheroes have a life outside of saving the world you know? And besides," he paused, gazing at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Ladybug forgot to attend Theo's inauguration."

"Yeah, I, uh, guess you're right," she shrugged again. "I have to say I'm curious though. Why didn't you go to the Masquerade? It looked so amazing — anyone with the opportunity to attend should have wanted to go."

"Of course I wanted to go, it's just—"

"Just what?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, confused at how to best navigate this conversation. He had to steer it towards his favor somehow. Marinette must have taken his silence to mean discomfort because she reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, you can tell me," she said. He knew that smile. It was the same smile Ladybug used whenever she was trying to work something in her favor.

 _Okay,_ he thought. _Two can play at that game._

"I don't know, Princess," he said, throwing an arm around her and pulling her close. "Superheroes keep their identities secret for a reason."

He looked down at her but was not prepared to see her wide eyes staring up at him with deep curiosity. He was struck suddenly by the blueness of her gaze and wondered how on earth he never noticed they were the same brilliant blue that shone out from behind Ladybug's mask. Whatever witty retort he had prepared for her response vanished from his mind, only to be replaced by the thumping of his heart and the proximity of her lips. Just when he felt as though he would soon lose control of himself, Marinette coughed and gave him a smirk.

"Alright, kitty. I see how it is," she said, but he couldn't help noticing that she didn't pull away from his arm's hold.

Adrien was thoroughly enjoying himself. This was the Ladybug he knew, in the flesh. He had never known Marinette to be so conniving, but he was pleased to experience this side of her.

"If only you knew what it was like, Princess," he said airily, "keeping your identity a secret."

"Yeah, if only," she said, looking down at her hands.

The last time he saw her as Ladybug, she had also seemed down, so he squeezed her shoulder and asked, "What's up?"

"Chat, can I ask you something?" she lifted her head up to him.

"Anything," he said softly.

"Since you wear a mask, do you ever wonder if all those people would actually like you for the real you?"

"All the time," he answered.

"Well, say you had someone special in your life. Would it kill you to wonder if they truly loved you for you?" she asked.

"Er, this is all hypothetical, right?" he said. Her question triggered the memory of Ladybug leaving his house the other night. _You don't even know me,_ she had said. Maybe _that_ what was upsetting her so much. Was Marinette suggesting he was someone special?

"Of course," she said slyly. "Unless… you _do_ have someone special in your life other than Ladybug?"

...Or it was all a trap.

"Alright, you got me," he said, holding his arms up in defeat. Might as well give her the satisfaction of thinking she had the upperhand. "That's who I was with during the Masquerade night."

Really, it was worth saying this just to see the excited triumphant grin that split her face. When Ladybug felt victorious, it was infectious.

"But…" and her smile faded somewhat. "Does it kill you that she might not truly love you for who you are?"

"I think," he began, reaching out a hand to stroke her bangs back, "she's sharp enough to know the real me regardless of the mask. And I hope she trusts that I know her, too."

He gave her a small smile and without thinking, cupped her face in his hands. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she contemplated his words. It was incredibly cute to watch. He was starting to feel bad; it probably wasn't fair that she was still clueless about his identity, but he had to give her the chance to try and figure it out herself first.

"I'm sure she'll accept you for who you are," she said.

"I hope so, too," he smiled. She blinked and shifted her eyes away from his face. Sensing this was the end of the conversation for tonight, he dropped his hands and stood up.

"Welp, it's getting late," he said, turning towards the balcony ledge. As he walked towards it, Marinette grabbed his arm.

"Wait," she commanded. "Can you tell me who this 'special someone' is?"

"Paris is huge, what are the chances you'd know her?" he winked before jumping off the building for home.

* * *

For the next three days, Marinette's internal conflict waged on. Despite Chat admitting to having "someone special" on the side, the moment they shared on her roof got too intimate for comfort.

She didn't know why she felt drawn to him that night and she refused to accept jealousy as the answer. The problem was, the situation with Adrien was equally confusing, so her usual excuse that Adrien was the one she loved most aired out and fell flat on its face. Every time she saw Adrien that week, she wanted to hide. Unfortunately for her, Alya was beginning to grow concerned.

"You've been acting weird all week, girl," she told Marinette one morning. "I thought you had helped Adrien with some homework but now you're avoiding him all over again? Did something happen that you're not telling me?"

"Everything's fine, Alya. I just—" she broke off nervously at her best friend's sharp glare. "I just think maybe he likes someone else."

"Have you confirmed this?" Alya asked, going straight to the facts.

"I — uhh—" the truthful answer was yes. Hadn't Adrien told Ladybug he liked _her_? Explaining it to Alya was a whole other thing. "I'm pretty certain."

"Oh, yeah? How?" Alya demanded. It was so typical of her not to drop the subject.

"I don't want to talk about it," Marinette said honestly. "Maybe later?"

Alya's expression softened and she threw her arms around Marinette.

"It's okay. I understand," she said. "Tell me whenever you're ready, okay?"

"Yeah," Marinette nodded as Adrien walked out of his limo in her line of vision.

When Marinette returned home that day, she went straight up to her room and collapsed in her bed. Tikki flew out to try and comfort her but life felt much too complicated at the moment.

 _Tap, tap. Tap, tap._

"Did you hear that?" Marinette asked.

But Tikki had already hid beneath the pillows, a sure sign that Marinette hadn't imagined it. Pushing herself up onto a seated position, she stared at the trap door leading downstairs to see if her mom was about to come up.

 _Tap, tap._

She turned her head towards the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from the rounded window across from her bed but she couldn't see anything out there due to the dark. Climbing down from her loft, she walked over to it cautiously.

As she drew near, a pair of bright green eyes blinked back at her through the glass panes. Marinette's eyes widened.

 _Chat?_

Whipping around, she checked her trap door again to make sure nobody was on the other side of it before fiddling with the hatch and pushing open her window.

"Couldn't even stay away for a week now, could you, kitty?" she teased as Chat's leaned closer in towards her room.

"Don't get your whiskers tangled up again too soon, I can't stay long," he winked, resting his elbow upon the sill.

"Oh?" she smirked, crossing her arms. "To what do I owe this visit then?"

Chat took a deep breath before continuing on.

"I've decided to tell you what I was up to during the Masquerade night," he said.

That sent Marinette's heart rate racing again.

"W-what?!" she exclaimed. Realizing her outburst, she quickly composed herself again and looked away from him. _Stay cool, Marinette, stay cool!_ "I mean — haha — yeah, okay. Completely up to you, whatever you want."

Chat raised a brow. "Yeah, okay. Not here though."

"Huh?" Confused, Marinette looked back at him, trying to understand what he just said. "Not… here? I mean, of course you weren't… here?"

"No, no, no, I meant — I won't tell you _here,_ " he clarified.

"Oh." Now she felt stupid. "Why not?"

Chat pursed his lips, then smiled. "I need to show you something. Meet me at the Trocadéro at half past midnight tomorrow?"

She blinked, wondering what on earth would warrant him to drag her out in the middle of the night for. But on the other hand, she really wanted to know the truth.

"Oh. Okay," she nodded. "I, um, I guess I'll be there."

"Don't worry, you won't regret it," he said, winking again.

And with that, he took off into the night.

* * *

The next twenty four hours were hell for Marinette. Even with Tikki's comforting speeches that she was probably overthinking it and she ought to just grit her teeth and go meet with Chat, she couldn't shake the feeling that everything would change if she went to see him. The way Chat had brought up the whole meeting thing had made everything feel way more severe, and even when Adrien gave her a reassuring smile that morning in class after he returned her dropped pencil, nothing was helping in terms of calming her nerves.

"Look, whatever happens tonight," Tikki started saying, later on that night after dinner, ten minutes shy of their arranged meeting time. "You and Chat Noir will always be partners. And you'll always know Adrien definitely has a crush on Ladybug. It's going to be fine."

"I don't know," Marinette said nervously. "It also still doesn't change the fact that I'm freaking out about this whole thing!"

Flying up to her, Tikki grabbed her cheeks and steadied her face.

"You're going to be fine, Marinette," she laughed. "Just breathe."

Marinette sighed. "I hope you're right, Tikki."

"I usually am," she winked, leaning back with her arms crossed. "Just say the magic words."

Marinette took a deep breath and let it out.

"Alright. Tikki, transform me!"

In a flash, she was out of her apartment. At this rate, she was going to be five minutes early, but she just couldn't stand the waiting anymore. She knew she was driving Tikki crazy with all the pacing. Better to just grit her teeth and get this over with.

Upon reaching Trocadéro, Marinette ducked down behind a wall and transformed out of Ladybug. Once Tikki was safe and secure in her purse, she stepped out onto the plaza, greeting the cool night air against her skin. Any moment now, she was sure the cat would be here, perhaps lurking in the shadows with his green eyes lit with a smirk.

"Here petit minou," she said softly with a teasing smile. "Where are you?"

A gentle padding of feet reached her ears. Turning around at once, she looked for his landing. — She'd recognize that sound anywhere.

"Chat?" she whispered, searching for those familiar green slits in the dark. "You here?"

As the faint shadow of a cat drew nearer and nearer, Marinette could make out the outline of her trusted, faithful partner.

"Hey," she said as the dirty blond hair and cat ears came closer. Stopping right in front of her, Chat bowed deeply.

"Hi, Purrincess," he greeted, taking her hand and brushing his lips over her knuckles. She was suddenly glad it was dark enough around them to mask her deep blush.

"W-what did you want to tell me?" For the life of her she couldn't keep her voice from shaking. "You said you wanted to show me something?"

"Right." He stood up straight and reached his hands back behind him. "You know how I said I was with someone special the night of the Masquerade?"

She nodded. "Yeah?"

"So that part is completely true," he said with a slight tilt of his head. "As to who I was with — well — you definitely know her."

"Oh." Marinette wasn't sure what to make of that. A part of her felt a twinge of jealousy while the other part rolled her eyes at herself because she was with Adrien the whole time and she knew she wanted to spend time with him anyways. Chat was therefore well within his right to spend time with somebody else. They weren't even an item yet. "Were you going to tell me who it is?"

"Patience, young padawan," he said, holding a hand up with his index finger pointed upwards. "First, I'll give you a hint."

"I despise guessing games," Marinette groaned, crossing her arms at once in defiance.

"Don't worry," Chat laughed. "It should be an easy one. Close your eyes."

She upturned her lips, hoping to hear him wave off that last command as a joke. When it was clear that he meant it, she sighed and let her eyes fall shut.

"Alright, do your worst."

She felt his warm hand grab hers and lift it up between them, palm up. For a minute, nothing happened. She was tempted to open her eyes just a peek when something soft and silky grazed the tips of her fingers before falling in a pile into her hands.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Er — can I open them now?"

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt him whisper close to her ear.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Slowly, Marinette cracked open an eye, then the other. Lifting her hand up to her face so that she could see better in the dim light from the Eiffel Tower across the way, she looked down at the item in her hands.

Her mouth fell open.

The first thing that caught her eye was a bundle of red. She blinked once. Twice. A long red sash covered in polka dots. She'd recognize her own work anywhere.

"H-how did you get this?" she breathed, unsure what to believe. Were Chat Noir and Adrien friends? Were they conspiring against her? Was the _universe_ conspiring against her?!

He simply shrugged and smiled, white teeth gleaming down at her.

"You gave it to me."

"I — what?"

"Plagg, detransform."

A flash of light, then —

" _Adrien?!_ " she gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth.

There before her, no cat suit, no bright green eyes, stood none other than the very blond boy she'd been crushing on since the beginning of her middle school career. Her face flushed, and she found herself looking around at everything but him.

"Oh my god, this isn't happening, this isn't happening…"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Adrien chuckled as he reached out to try and pry her hands away from her face. "You're saying that like it's a bad thing."

"It-it's — it's _not!_ " she stammered, shrinking away still. "I'm just — _this is a lot to take in at once, okay?!_ "

Adrien laughed again at that.

"You're adorable," he said, causing her eyes to widen at once.

"I — I just — I just—" _Breathe, Marinette, breathe!_ She shook her head and forced herself to look him in the eye. "How long have you known?"

"Since we bumped into each other in the hallway and you dropped your notebook full of designs," he said, scratching the back of his head apologetically.

Marinette blinked, trying to do the math in her head. That meant he knew when she visited him as Ladybug! How embarrassing, she wanted to kick herself. He had known it was her all this time and hadn't lost interest at all?

"And… you weren't disappointed? When you found out it was me?" she asked, looking down at the ground.

" _Au contraire,_ " Adrien said.

"S-so…" she twiddled her fingers, feeling incredibly shy. "When you said — as Chat — that you were with someone special—"

"It was you," he smiled. He took a step closer to her. "It was you the whole time."

"I… I don't know what to say," she said, avoiding his gaze. She didn't take a step back.

Reaching out his hand, Adrien cupped her cheek and tilted her head up to face him.

"You don't have to say anything," he whispered.

His eyes bored into hers, pinning her in place as she looked back up at him. Her entire body seemed to have frozen completely as he held her there, waiting. Before she could fully comprehend what she was doing, her fingers tightened around the sash in her hands as she lifted her heels off the ground.

Just as she remembered, his lips were soft and warm. They moved gently against hers now, sending a sudden tingling buzz straight down her spine as he angled his jaw and opened his mouth to hers, deepening the kiss. Sinking her fingers in his hair at the nape of his neck, she tugged him closer down to her, his hand steadying her at her back. He was handling her as delicately as he had when she was Ladybug, his thumb softly stroking the line of her jaw as he licked into her mouth, causing a small whimper to escape from the back of her throat. She felt him smile against her lips at the sound of it so she shoved aside her embarrassment and pulled him in even closer.

They broke apart after some time, hair mussed and lips swollen, but eyes bright beneath the moonlight as they smiled shyly at each other. Giggling, Marinette threw the sash around Adrien's neck and tied a classic scarf-like knot at his chest before pulling him back in for another kiss.

For all the stress this one piece of fabric had caused her throughout the past few days, Marinette was glad she had incorporated it into her design in the end.

After all, it was always meant to be her lucky charm.

* * *

 _~la fin~_


End file.
